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THE  LIFE 


MARTIN   LUTHER 


TO  WHICH  IS  PREFIXED 

AN  EXPOSITORY  ESSAY  ON  THE  LUTHERAN 
REFORMATION. 


BY   REY.   GEORGE   CUBITT.^ 


WITH 


EORGE   CUBITT. 

AN  APPENDIX,*  •    ^  I 


CONTAINING  A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  EVENTS 
OCCURRING  DURING  THE  PERIOD  OF  LUTHER'S  LIFE. 


PUBLISHED  BY   CARLTON  &  PHILLIPS, 


200    MULBERRY-STREET. 

1853. 


G$ 


<T 


#?.* 


EXPOSITORY   ESSAY 


LUTHERAN    REFORMATION 


There  are  three  different  methods  in  which  the  exa- 
mination of  an  event  like  the  Reformation — if  it  should 
not  be  rather  called  a  series  of  progressing  and  devel- 
oped events — may  be  conducted.  By  the  first,  its 
principles  might  be  investigated  and  tested.  Such  an 
examination  would  suppose  the  proper  character  of  the 
facts  to  be  as  yet  unascertained ;  and  would  have  for 
its  object  the  resolution  of  the  events  into  their  ori- 
ginating and  component  principles,  and  the  comparison 
of  these  with  some  previously-acknowledged  standard, 
that  so  a  definite  sentence  might  be  pronounced  upon 
the  whole  series.  This  would  be  the  method  of  ori- 
ginal INVESTIGATION. 

By  the  second,  the  series  might  be  examined  for  the 
avowed  purpose  of  praise  or  censure.  The  examiner 
would  in  this  case  acknowledge  himself  to  be  an  advo- 
cate ;  and  assuming  certain  principles  and  rules  as  the 
foundation  of  his  sentences,  he  would  proceed  to  show 
that,  according  to  these,  the  events  considered  were 
correct  or  erroneous,  right  or  wrong.  This  would  be 
the  method  of  advocacy  ;  and  provided  that,  at  the 
very  outset,  the  standard  of  judgment  is  fairly  delivered, 
it  is  a  method  which  the  examiner  has  not  only  a  right 


816504. 


4  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

to  employ,  but  which  he  may  often  employ  with  ad- 
vantage. 

But  there  is  a  third  method,  somewhat  different  from 
either  of  the  others.  It  may,  for  the  sake  of  distinc- 
tion, be  termed  the  method  of  exposition.  In  this 
case,  the  examiner  may  be  supposed  previously  to 
have  so  considered  the  subject  as  to  have  made  up  his 
mind  upon  it.  The  facts  have  all  been  examined,  and 
are  associated  with  settled  judgments  of  approval  or 
blame.  An  Essay  constructed  on  this  principle  will 
aim  chiefly  at  information.  The  writer  will  not  con- 
ceal from  his  readers  that  he  has  a  decided  opinion  on 
the  subject  which  he  is  about  to  bring  before  them,  and 
may  very  properly  assume  that,  on  all  the  leading  prin- 
ciples of  the  case,  their  opinions  coincide  with  his  own. 
What  he  seeks  to  do  is  to  make  that  coincidence  more 
complete  by  a  careful  explanation.  He  will  endeavour, 
therefore,  to  give  such  a  statement  of  the  leading  facts 
of  the  case  as  shall  make  the' development  of  their 
principles  an  easier  task,  and  enable  the  reader  to  dis- 
tinguish between  what  are  only  accidental  adjuncts,  and 
what  are  rationally  and  properly  effects  and  results. 

To  this  last-mentioned  class  the  present  Essay  is  in- 
tended to  belong.  It  is  not  intended  to  be  polemic.  The 
writer  is  a  Protestant,  and  he  writes  for  Protestants. 
Facts,  of  course,  are  facts,  and  are  to  be  considered  as 
such ;  but  their  character  supposes  some  acknowledged 
standard ;  and,  in  the  present  case,  that  standard  is, 
the  written  word  of  God.  Assuming  that  Luther  was 
essentially  right,  the  object  of  the  folloAving  remarks 
is  rather  statement  and  development,  than  defence 
Where,  indeed,  it  appears  to  be  necessary,  renewed 
investigation  will  be  instituted ;    sincere  and  earnest 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  5 

advocacy  will  be  employed ;  but  the  chief  object  will 
be  to  furnish  such  an  exposition  of  the  facts,  principles, 
and  results  furnished,  or  suggested,  by  the  history  of 
Dr.  Martin  Luther,  the  great  German  reformer,  as 
shall  assist  the  general  reader  in  forming  a  decided 
op'nion  of  the  Reformation  itself. 

Some  preliminary  observations,  showing  the  neces- 
sity of  ecclesiastical  reform  in  the  time  of  Luther,  as 
well  as  the  principles  on  which  alone  it  could  safely 
be  conducted,  will  be  called  for  in  the  very  first  in- 
stance. The  Wittenberg  professor  effected  great  and 
lasting  changes  ;  and  the  all-important  question  on  the 
subject  is,  Were  those  changes  only  heretical  innova- 
tions ;  or  were  they  movements  in  return  to  a  primitive, 
a  lost,  but  necessary  purity  ? 

And  such  an  inquiry  is  the  more  important,  for  that 
it  has  been  recently  shown,  both  more  clearly  and  more 
impressively  than  ever,  that  the  discontents  which  in 
the  mind  of  Luther  ripened  into  opposition,  and  pro- 
duced eventual  separation,  were  not  confined  to  him. 
Ranke  has  shown  that  there  were  in  Italy  ecclesiastics, 
and  ecclesiastics  high  in  office,  whose  opinions  on 
doctrinal  subjects  very  nearly  coincided  with  those  of 
Luther ;  and  who  therefore  could  not  but  believe  that 
the  visible  church  had  become  unfaithful  to  her  high 
trust,  and  was  no  longer  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
truth.  And  with  these  men,  religious  doctrine  was  not 
mere  intellectual  opinion,  much  less  the  adoption  of 
certain  verbal  propositions  which  they  were,  from  their 
official  situation,  bound  to  support.  In  reality,  those 
opinions  which  approached  most  nearly  to  the  belief  of 
Luther  and  his  associates  will  be  found  to  refer  not  so 
much  to  the  great  facts  of  religion,  (as  compendiously 


6  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

stated,  for  instance,  in  the  Apostles'  Creed,)  as  to  the 
real  nature  of  religion  itself,  and  to  the  rule  and  extent 
of  the  obedience  which  is,  by  divine  appointment, 
made  necessary  to  salvation. 

But  while  such  men  as  Cardinal  Pole  seem  to  have 
thought  that  the  primary  opinions  of  Luther  were  not 
so  erroneous  as  polemics  like  Eccius  described  them, 
they  likewise  seem  to  have  thought  that  the  principles 
on  which  the  visible  union  of  the  church  in  their  day 
depended  had  an  importance  which  placed  them  far 
above  all  other  subjects  of  controversy,  and  required 
that  they  should  be  supported  even  at  the  risk  of  dark- 
ening what  they  acknowledged  to  be  light  from  heaven. 
Luther,  on  the  other  hand,  regarded  what  he  believed 
to  be  the  truth  as  being  superior  to  every  other  con- 
sideration. When  the  alternative  was  presented,  that 
he  should  either  suppress  what  he  was  persuaded  was 
true,  or  renounce  his  connection  with  Rome,  his  deci- 
sion was  soon  declared.  His  language  was,  in  effect, 
"  Whatever  else  is  retained  or  renounced,  the  truth  of 
God  must  be  both  held  and  preached." 

It  may  be  useful  to  notice  the  issue  of  the  resolution 
of  those  divines  to  whom  allusion  has  just  been  made. 
They  regarded  the  church  as  a  corporate  body,  con- 
stituted by  the  visible  succession  of  a  certain  class  of 
ecclesiastical  officers ;  and  that — for  this  the  history 
of  this  visible  succession  most  absolutely  requires — 
without  any  reference  to  the  personal  character  and 
religious  opinions  of  the  officers  themselves,  or  even 
to  the  mode  of  their  election.  The  episcopal  succes- 
sion, as  the  line  was  marked  by  the  succession  of  the 
bishops  of  Rome,  was  believed  to  constitute  the  very  prin- 
ciple on  which  the  church  itself  was  supposed  to  rest. 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  7 

And  although  the  divines  in  question  might  not  have 
said  that  visible  union  with  this  church  was  all  that  was 
necessary  to  salvation,  yet  undoubtedly  they  made  this 
union  so  far  necessary  as  to  make  it  the  foundation  on 
which  alone  the  superstructure  could  be  reared.  They 
did  not  say  that  all  should  be  saved  who  were  in  the 
church,  but  they  did  say  that  out  of  the  church  there 
could  be  no  salvation.  Union  with  the  church,  there- 
fore, considered  as  an  external  society,  formed  (not  by 
lineal,  as  the  Levitical  priesthood,  but)  by  official  suc- 
cession, they  regarded  as  the  first  and  most  necessary 
requisite  for  securing  eternal  salvation.  And  their 
conduct  was  consistent  with  their  opinions.  They 
thought  with  Luther  on  the  nature  and  condition  of 
justification ;  but,  by  a  strange  confusion  of  mind,  in- 
stead of  carrying  out  the  opinion  to  its  proper  conse- 
quences, they  looked  at  another,  and  a  very  different 
one  ;  and  by  the  rules  suggested  by  this,  they  chose  to 
govern  themselves. 

The  consequence  might  have  been  foreseen.  The 
practical  opinion  became,  ere  long,  not  only  the  pre- 
vailing, but  the  exclusive  one.  At  the  Council  of  Trent 
these  ecclesiastics  endeavoured  to  make  their  voice 
heard,  and  to  procure  for  the  truth  which  they  believed 
the  solemn  recognition  of  the  church.  But  they  had 
not  the  slightest  measure  of  success.  The  Papists 
saw,  intuitively,  that  with  the  doctrine  of  justification 
)y  faith,  those  which  related  to  the  church  were  utterly 
'nconsistent ;  and  as  these  latter  were  held  even  by 
^he  more  evangelical  members  of  the  council,  they 
rere  taken  as  proclaimed  by  the  general  voice ;  and 
len,  this  being  assumed  as  truth,  the  other  was  de- 
» lared  to  be  error ;  and  thus,  whatever  had  remained 


8  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

in  the  Roman  Church  of  evangelical  doctrine,  as  to  the 
justification  of  the  sinner  before  God,  was  totally  and 
finally  excluded.  What  Pole  and  his  associates 
believed  to  be  truth,  was  declared  to  be  error,  and 
anathematized  as  such.  And  if  those  views  of  eccle- 
siastical order  in  which  all  the  adherents  of  the  Papacy 
agreed  were  correct,  the  council  was  right.  With 
those  views,  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  is 
altogether  incompatible ;  the  majority  of  the  members 
of  the  council,  therefore,  seeing  this,  and  assuming  the 
validity  of  their  own  principles,  decided  against  it. 
They  were  clear-sighted  enough  to  perceive  that  the 
Lutheran  opinion  of  justification  belonged  to  a  system 
of  religion  very  different  from  that  which  themselves 
had  embraced,  and  that  in  putting  down,  ostensibly,  a 
single  doctrine,  they  were  putting  down  a  regular  col- 
lection of  principles  and  results.  From  that  time, 
supposing  the  position  occupied  and  defended  by  Lu- 
ther to  be  correct,  the  Church  of  Rome  has  been  not 
only  unevangelical,  but  anti-evangelical.  The  truth 
which  in  Luther's  judgment  constituted  the  gospel  is 
not  only  not  tolerated,  but  condemned.  The  holders  of 
justification  by  faith  are  anathematized ;  so  that  they 
who  consistenly  follow  out  the  teachings  of  the  Papacy, 
as  directed  by  the  Council  of  Trent,  adopt  a  rule  utterly 
at  variance  with  that  laid  down  in  what  is  believed  to 
be  the  first  written  apostolical  Epistle  ;  and  concerning 
which,  the  Spirit,  by  whom  the  author  wrote,  explicitly 
declares  that  its  observance  constitutes  the  living  church 
of  the  Lord  Christ, — "  And  as  many  as  walk  according 
to  this  rule,  peace  be  on  them,  and  mercy,  and  upon 
the  Israel  of  God." 

To  this,  therefore,  did  the  efforts  come  of  those  who, 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  9 

while  they  valued  apostolical  truth,  made  it  subsenient 
to  ecclesiastical  order  and  visible  unity.  What  they 
believed  to  be  true,  the  church  declared  to  be  false ; 
and  it  was  only  by  an  indulgent  connivance,  which  a 
zealous  promulgation  of  their  opinions  would  have  for- 
feited, that  they  were  not  personally  excommunicated. 

Exactly  opposite  to  this  were  the  convictions  of 
Luther,  and  the  conduct  to  which  they  led.  It  was  a 
governing  principle  with  him  that  the  truth  of  God 
must  be  not  only  maintained,  but  declared.  Others 
regarded  it  as  subordinate ;  he  as  supreme.  His  first 
obedience  was  due  to  it.  Wherever  it  led,  there  was 
he  to  follow.  Whatsoever  disruptions  it  occasioned, 
to  whatsoever  perils  it  exposed,  it  was  the  pillar  of  the 
cloud  on  which  his  eye  was  fixed,  and  by  the  move- 
ments of  which  all  his  own  were  regulated. 

And  this  supremacy  of  truth  was  not  an  arbitrary 
appointment,  a  capricious  conception  of  his  own,  but 
was  deeply  founded  in  the  essential  nature  of  the  gos- 
pel. Men  are  not  saved  merely  as  being  integral 
members  in  that  visible  ecclesiastical  corporation  which 
is  called  the  church.  Whatever  may  be  their  other 
duties  in  relation  to  it,  and  by  whatever  rules  they  may 
be  governed,  union  with  it  is  not  the  immediate  and 
proximate  condition  of  salvation.  The  church,  even 
in  its  spiritual  character,  and  purest  form,  is  not  to  be 
put  in  the  place  of  Christ.  "  God  hath  given  unto  us 
eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son."  This  is  not 
merely  a  truth,  but  the  truth.  It  is  the  substance  of 
the  gospel.  "  This  is  the  record."  And  therefore  it 
is  not  said,  that  he  that  hath  the  church,  hath  life  ;  but 
"  he  that  hath  the  Son."  Every  particular  congrega- 
tion of  Christians  ought  to  bear,  as  on  a  pillar,  the  in- 
1* 


10  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

scription  which  directs  men  to  Christ ;  but  that  pillar  is 
for  the  inscription,  not  the  inscription  for  the  pillar.  And 
the  inscription  is  not  for  ornament,  but  use.  It  is  to 
tell  men  where  and  how  they  may  be  saved.  The 
society  which  does  not  declare  and  support  the  truth, 
is  not  its  pillar  and  ground  ;  and,  therefore,  not  the 
church.  In  its  best  sense,  it  teaches  the  way  to  Christ ; 
but  it  is  in  an  unrivalled  sense  that  Christ  says,  "  I  am 
the  way ;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me." 
Men  come  to  the  Father  that  they  may  be  saved ;  saved 
with  a  present  salvation :  and  this  salvation  is  God's 
act,  God's  performance.  Here,  in  fact,  is  the  chain. 
It  is  God  "  that  justifieth  the  ungodly."  But  for  this, 
they  must  "  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord."  This  is 
coming  unto  God ;  and,  to  use  the  words  of  one  of  the 
standards  of  the  Anglican  Church,  "  the  first  coming 
unto  God  is  through  faith,  whereby  we  be  justified  be- 
fore God."  Now,  that  we  may  thus  come  to  "  God  in 
Christ"  for  remission  of  sins,  we  must,  to  a  certain 
extent,  rightly  believe  concerning  God,  and  his  Son, 
and  the  prescribed  method  of  human  salvation.  Doc- 
trinal belief  itself  is  not  so  much  necessary  for  its  own 
sake ;  it  is  necessary  that  men  may  have  the  answer 
to  the  question,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  That 
they  may  be  saved,  they  are  to  call  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord ;  that  they  may  do  this,  they  must  properly  be- 
lieve concerning  him;  and  that  they  may  properly 
believe  the  truth,  the  truth  in  its  close  connection  with 
their  personal  salvation  must  be  taught  them. 

Here  was  the  difference  between  Luther  and  the 
Romanists :  the  latter  said,  in  effect,  (for  to  this  did 
their  doctrines  of  the  sacraments  and  absolution  prac- 
tically come,)  "  God  has  committed  to  the  church  the 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  11 

power  of  saving  you.  We  minister  life  to  you  in  one 
sacrament,  and  nourishment  in  another ;  and,  if  we 
judge  well  of  your  penitence,  we  absolve  you  from 
your  trespasses.  The  church  now  does  all  these  things 
in  the  name  of  Christ ;  and  as  representing  Christ,  and 
being,  during  his  absence,  in  his  room  and  stead ;  the 
church,  therefore,  is  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life. 
The  church  saves  all  that  dutifully  conform  themselves 
to  its  will."  This  was  Romanism ;  and  on  these  prin- 
ciples the  knowledge  of  religious  truth  may  certainly 
be  taken  as  of  very  subordinate  consequence.  But  in 
opposition  to  all  this,  Luther  declared  that  God  was 
Saviour ;  and  that  the  office  of  the  church  was  not  to 
communicate  salvation,  but  to  show  how  men  might 
receive  it  at  the  hands  of  God ;  that  is,  that  the  great 
duty  of  the  church  was  to  make  known  the  truth ;  to 
say,  with  the  Baptist,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  At  all  hazards, 
therefore,  did  he  resolve  to  spread  what  he  believed  to 
be  the  truth.  x\nd  why  ?  Not  that  he  considered  him- 
self to  have  made  discoveries  by  which  his  name  might 
be  immortalized ;  not  that  he  might  be  regarded  as  the 
founder  of  a  new  school,  and  receive  the  homage  of  his 
disciples  as  its  head.  This,  indeed,  was  often  imputed 
to  him  by  men  who  neither  understood  him  nor  the 
subjects  which  the  controversy  involved ;  but  it  is  im- 
possible to  study  the  writings  and  history  of  Luther, 
and  suppose  that  he  was  influenced  by  this  desire  of 
intellectual  laudation  and  dominancy.  He  knew  how 
to  be  submissive  and  yielding,  and  even  tender ;  but  it 
was  always  on  the  understanding  that  what  he  con- 
sidered as  the  gospel,  the  gospel  as  described  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  and  important  for  the  reasons 


12  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

assigned  there, — that  this  gospel  was  untouched,  un- 
impeded. The  language  of  his  preaching,  of  his 
writing,  of  his  correspondence  and  conversation,  was 
all  of  a  piece.  By  this  he  explained  his  conduct ;  by 
this  he  justified  it.  In  effect,  his  various  declarations 
amounted  to  this :  "  We  must  teach  men  to  know 
Christ,  that  by  Christ  they  may  be  saved."  One  key, 
therefore,  to  the  exposition  of  Luther's  conduct  and 
character  is  found  in  his  unconquerable  resolution  to 
declare  the  truth  according  to  Christ's  gospel ;  and 
this,  because  of  his  deep  and  settled  conviction  of  the 
importance  of  that  truth  in  all  its  references  to  the 
salvation  of  man. 

If  the  views  just  now  exhibited  be  at  all  correct ;  if 
it  be  so  that  truth  and  salvation  are  thus  to  be  associ- 
ated in  our  conceptions ;  then  will  it  immediately 
follow,  that  so  far  is  ignorance  from  being  the  mother, 
that  she  is  the  bane,  of  devotion ;  that  a  time  of  reli- 
gious ignorance  and  error  will  be  a  time  of  relaxed 
morals,  of  spreading  corruption,  and  at  length  of  daring 
and  abandoned  impiety.  If  the  carnal  mind  be  enmity 
against  God,  (and  this  is  the  plain  language  of  Scrip- 
ture, admitted  by  both  Romanist  and  Protestant,)  and 
if  it  can  only  be  subdued  by  the  grace  and  truth  of  the 
gospel ;  then,  whenever  these  remedies  are  sparingly 
and  negligently  administered,  and  even  for  the  n.ost 
part  not  administered  at  all,  the  disease  will  increase, 
till  the  symptoms,  which  mark  its  aggravated  character 
and  growing  power,  become  overwhelmingly  frightful. 
And  this  had  long  been  the  state  of  Christendom  when 
Luther  was  born.  The  whole  head  was  sick;  the 
whole  heart  was  faint.  From  the  sole  of  the  foot  unto 
the  head  there  was  no  soundness  in  it,  but  wounds,. 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  13 

and  bruises,  and  putrefying  sores  :  they  had  not  been 
closed,  neither  bound  up,  neither  mollified  with  oint- 
ment. The  demoralization  and  corruption  of  society 
were  at  their  height.  Not  only  were  the  means  of 
checking  immorality  not  employed,  but  that  which  was 
originally  designed  to  be  the  cure  of  all  human  dis- 
orders had  become  their  great  promoter.  Ignorance 
and  superstition  had  enslaved  the  people  at  large ;  ancl 
in  the  higher  circles  of  life  vice  had  only  become 
somewhat  less  brutal,  and  often  more  extensive  by 
being  more  luxuriant.  The  bulk  of  the  clergy  were 
ignorant  and  depraved.  The  established  and  rigidly- 
enforced  celibacy  of  the  priestly  order  had  produced 
the  results  that  might  have  been  anticipated.  That 
the  law  of  man  might  be  observed,  the  law  of  God  was 
violated ;  and  these  violations  met  with  general  con- 
nivance. The  foundations  of  morality  were  thus  under- 
mined, and  the  ligaments  which  bound  society  together 
we're  almost  severed.  Dark  indeed  was  the  age  that 
immediately  preceded  the  Reformation.  Darkness  had 
covered  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness  the  people. 

The  popedom  itself  was  regarded  with  a  strange 
mixture  of  feeling.  While  the  belief  prevailed  that 
the  priestly  act  could  communicate  spiritual  life  and 
nourishment,  it  was  not  possible  to  regard  the  posses- 
sors of  such  power  without  awe.  And  when  to  this 
was  added  the  supposed  right  to  bind  and  loose,  the 
awe  at  once  sunk  and  expanded  into  terror.  The 
more  educated  might  sometimes  despise  what  they 
wished  to  dare  ;  but  unless  they  held  in  their  hand  a 
sword  which  even  Rome  cared  not  to  brave,  their  con- 
tempt might  not  show  itself  in  any  overt  act.  The 
prince  could  not  set  at  naught  the  terrors  of  the  Papal 


14  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

interdict,  unless  his  subjects  thought  and  felt  with  him- 
self; and,  in  an  age  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  this 
was  seldom  likely  to  be  the  case.  However,  when 
pressed  in  argument,  the  priestly  disputant  might  dis- 
tinguish between  the  curse  of  the  law  and  the  censures 
of  the  church,  the  bulk  of  the  people  connected  together 
the  notions  of  priestly  absolution  and  divine  pardon. 

But  while  the  Papal  power  was  feared,  it  was  like- 
wise despised.  It  had  not  virtue  enough  to  make  itself 
respected,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  Papacy,  for 
several  hundred  years,  had  been  such  as  to  keep  its 
vices  full  in  public  view.  For  ages  the  Papal  throne 
had  been  filled  by  men  whose  characters  only  differed 
in  the  forms  which  their  impiety  assumed.  By  many 
of  them  even  shame  had  been  thrown  away. 

And,  that  all  this  might  work  out  its  own  proper  re- 
sults, priestly  ambition  led  to  the  Papal  schism.  For 
a  long  series  of  years  there  were  two,  sometimes  three, 
popes  ;  and  however  holy  any  one  of  them  might  be  to 
those  of  his  own  "  obedience,"  yet  the  rest — the  only 
word  that  fitly  describes  the  historical  fact  is — the  rest 
were  considered  as  fair  game  for  invective. 

But  it  was  not  invective  only.  Let  the  publications 
elicited  by  the  Council  of  Constance  be  read  ;  the 
council  which,  a  hundred  years  before  Luther,  advised 
Sigismund  to  a  breach  of  the  public  faith,  burned  John 
Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague,  and  deposed  three  popes. 
Let  all  the  invective  and  satire  which  political  enmity 
might  occasion  be  erased,  and  only  the  solemn  language 
of  private  piety,  or  of  public  ecclesiastical  censure,  be 
retained  as  evidence,  and  enough  will  remain  to  show 
that  the  hierarchy  was  pressed  down  by  its  monstrous 
vices,  and  that  the  heads  of  the  church  were  the  heads 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  15 

of  its  wickedness.  And  the  council  itself  was  the 
worthy  representative  of  the  morality  of  the  day.  John 
Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague,  men  of  irreproachable 
character,  but  reputed  heresiarchs,  they  burned.  John 
XXIII.,  a  monster  seldom  equalled  even  in  the  Papacy, 
and  scarcely  surpassed  by  Alexander  VI.,  the  notorious 
Borgia,  they  dismissed  to  splendour,  affluence,  and  a 
bishopric ! 

Nor  was  the  succession  materially  altered  in  its 
character  for  the  half  century  preceding  the  Reforma- 
tion. Sixtus  IV.  (1471)  became  infamous  by  taking 
part  in  a  conspiracy  against  the  house  of  Medici,  and 
by  licensing  houses  of  ill-fame  at  Rome,  for  the  sake 
of  revenue.  Alexander  VI.,  (1492,)  as  Borgia,  has 
passed  into  a  proverb  ;  Julius,  who  preceded  Leo,  was 
an  iron-handed  political  warrior  ;  Leo  himself  an  ele- 
gant, good-natured,  and  voluptuous  infidel.  And  such 
as  was  the  sovereign,  such  were  the  courtiers.  Chris- 
tianity appears  to  have  existed  at  Rome  as  a  cause 
committed  to  the  professional  care  of  certain  advocates, 
and  which  they  were  bound,  both  in  honour  and  by 
interest,  professionally  to  maintain.  But  professional 
advocacy  is  consistent  with  a  fearful  quantity  of  actual 
unbelief.  And  this  was  plainly  seen  both  in  the  Roman 
court  and  throughout  Italy.  A  blind  superstition  and  a 
semi-enlightened  infidelity  almost  divided  the  country 
between  them.  When  the  splendid  and  munificent 
patronage  of  the  Medici  at  Florence  promoted  the 
revival  of  classical  literature,  the  philosophers  and 
poets  thought  more  of  Plato  and  Cicero,  than  Paul,  or 
Peter,  or  John.  And  whether  Leo  did  or  did  not  actu- 
ally use  the  language  which  the  often-repeated  anec- 
dote attributes  to  him,  "  How  profitable  to  us  is  this 


16  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

fable  of  Christ!"  yet  it  is  beyond  all  doubt  that  the 
expression  would  only  have  been  in  perfect  keeping 
with  all  that  is  known  of  his  principles  and  character. 
Of  the  corruption  of  the  Roman  ecclesiastical  court 
under  the  predecessor  of  Leo,  Luther  was  permitted  to 
be  a  witness.  When  he  visited  Rome,  in  1510,  on  the 
business  of  his  order,  the  see  had  not  a  more  dutiful 
son  than  himself.  Secession  from  the  church,  as  he 
then  regarded  the  church,  was  a  thought  which  not  his 
wildest  dreams  would  have  suggested.  And  even  when 
he  saw  the  desolating  abominations,  he  saw  not  how 
they  were  to  be  removed.  But  he  did  see  them.  Julius 
himself,  the  successor  of  the  holy  apostles,  (!!)  was  a 
profane  soldier;  and  throughout  the  city  ignorance, 
profligacy,  and  a  contempt  for  those  very  things  of 
which  the  forms  were  so  carefully  preserved,  were 
universally  spread  and  manifested.  When  he  said 
mass  at  Rome,  as  he  was  requested  to  do  during  his 
visit,  he  went  through  the  service  like  a  man  who  was 
in  earnest,  and  was  laughed  at  for  his  rustic  sincerity. 
On  one  occasion,  some  other  priests,  likewise  engaged 
in  mass-reading,  had  read  seven  before  he  had  finished 
his  one.  "  Quick,  quick,"  said  one  of  them  to  him ; 
"  send  our  lady  her  son  back  again  speedily."  Nor 
were  the  higher  ecclesiastics  less  corrupt  than  the  in- 
ferior priesthood.  At  their  tables  they  indulged  in 
obscene  jests  and  coarse  buffoonery ;  and  their  senti- 
ment on  religion  itself, — opinion  it  cannot  be  termed, 
they  were  not  serious  enough  for  deliberately-formed 
opinion, — but  their  sentiment  on  the  subject  is  placed 
in  broad  day  by  the  fact,  which  Luther  has  recorded, 
that  they  have  boasted  in  his  presence  of  what,  accord- 
ing to  their  own  profession,  was  the  most  awfully-sacri- 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  17 

legious  mockery  of  which  men  could  be  guilty.  In  the 
place  of  the  usual  sacramental  words,  they  would  use 
these  :  "  Panis  es,  et  panis  manebis  :  vinum  es,  et  vinum 
manebis.  Bread  thou  art,  and  bread  thou  shalt  remain: 
wine  thou  art,  and  wine  thou  shalt  remain."  "  Then," 
added  they  significantly,  "  we  elevate  the  pyx,  and  all 
the  people  worship !"  If  they  believed  according  to 
their  profession,  they  were  cold-blooded,  intentional 
soul-murderers :  and  if  they  did  not  so  believe, — as 
who  can  even  fancy  that  they  did  ? — there  is  no  lan- 
guage that  can  sufficiently  describe  their  disgusting 
hypocrisy. 

But  what  must  have  been  the  state  of  that  ecclesi- 
astical corporation  to  whose  head  could  be  applied  the 
epigram : — 

"  Vendit  Alexander  claves,  altaria,  Christum  ; 
Vendere  jure  potest,  emerat  ipse  prius." 

u  The  pope  sells  altars,  Christ,  and  keys, 
And  thus  to  sell  he  ought ; 
Of  right  he  sells  as  he  may  please, 
What  first  of  all  he  bought." 

And  thus  was  the  whole  Roman  Church  overspread 
and  steeped  with  simony,  infidelity,  and  imposture ; 
with  ignorance,  superstition,  and  immorality.  The 
form  of  godliness  might  be  there,  though  even  this  was 
disfigured  with  rites  and  ceremonies  borrowed  from 
heathenism,  and  from  the  abrogated  Levitical  law  of 
the  Jews ;  but  the  power  was  more  than  absent, — it 
was  denied.  The  two  great  marks  of  the  predicted 
apostacy  were  therefore  now  furnished  by  what  was 
called  the  Roman  Church.  The  man  of  sin  was  found 
sitting  as  God,  in  the  temple  of  God;   and  religion 


18  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

consisted  in  the  form  of  godliness  retained,  while  its 
power  was  denied. 

In  such  a  state,  the  professing  church  was  neither 
the  light  of  the  world,  nor  the  salt  of  the  earth.  Re- 
formation, therefore,  was  necessary. 

But  how  was  it  to  be  accomplished  1  Up  to  the  time 
of  Luther,  all  attempts  had  failed.  The  Council  of 
Constance  had,  indeed,  asserted  the  subordination  of 
the  pope  ;  but  when  the  great  schism  had  ceased,  and 
the  undisputed  possessor  of  the  Roman  chair  had  leisure 
once  more  to  direct  his  attention  to  the  aggrandize- 
ment of  his  see,  Papal  policy  gradually  prevailed  against 
what  was  regarded  as  conciliar  usurpation  ;  and  Papal 
power,  with  all  its  pretended  reverence  for  antiquity, 
refused,  practically,  the  restraints  of  the  ancient  dis- 
cipline, as  interfering  with  the  free  exercise  of  its  uni- 
versal authority. 

No  wonder  that  all  former  attempts  had  failed. 
They  left  the  source  of  the  evil  not  only  untouched, 
but  uninfluenced  and  dominant. 

Two  facts  must  never  be  overlooked  in  this  case. 
First,  All  the  practical  evil  there  is  in  the  world  comes 
from  the  original  evil  of  man's  fallen  nature :  and, 
second,  All  the  practical  good  there  is  in  the  world 
proceeds  from  the  grace  of  God,  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  As  in  the  human  body,  while  alive,  the 
laws  of  life  counteract,  in  many  most  important  in- 
stances, those  physical  laws  to  which  it  would  other- 
wise be  subject ;  so  in  the  professing  church, — its 
practical  holiness  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  extent 
and  strength  of  its  spiritual  life.  When  the  powers 
of  life  in  the  body  are  in  a  state  of  extreme  languor 
and  decline,  the  tendency  of  physical  laws  to  exert 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  19 

their  natural  power  is  plainly  perceptible ;  and  when 
life  departs,  the  restraining  counteracting  power  is  re  • 
moved,  and  the  body  follows  the  ordinary  tendencies 
of  matter.  Thus  is  it  in  the  church.  When  its 
spirituality  decays,  its  power  of  resisting  inward  and 
outward  evil  proportionably  diminishes.  The  abuses 
in  the  Roman  Church,  of  which  all  Europe  justly  com- 
plained, resulted  from  the  loss  of  spirituality.  Men 
were  not  taught  the  true  way  of  salvation  ;  they  there- 
fore did  not  seek  for  it.  It  was  impossible,  "  the 
world,"  "  the  flesh,"  and  "  the  devil,"  being  what  they 
are,  but  that  in  such  a  state  of  things  dissoluteness  of 
manners  should  prevail  and  increase.  And  the  cure 
could  only  be  effectual  which  went  directly  to  that  in 
which  the  disease  originated.  New  laws,  prohibiting 
abuses,  however  minute  and  stringent,  would  have  done 
little  even  in  their  first  and  compulsory  enactment ; 
and  they  would  soon  have  been  swept  away,  either  by 
evasion  or  direct  repeal. 

Among  the  remarkable  circumstances  of  the  Lutheran 
Reformation,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  is,  that  no 
reforming  intention,  properly  so  called,  is  to  be  found 
in  its  first  movements.  There  is  a  mistaken  philosophy 
which  seems  perpetually  occupied  in  preventing  its 
scholars  from  referring  to  God  in  any  other  character 
than  that  of  a  metaphysical  abstraction,  having  no  ap- 
preciable value  in  moral  calculations  ;  which,  on  this 
particular  subject,  vaguely  speaks  of  Luther  as  being 
produced  by  the  spirit  of  the  age.  All  this  is  pure 
hypothesis.  It  is  unsupported  by  a  single  fact.  Luther 
was  not  a  man  of  the  world.  He  was  no  politician. 
To  those  abuses  which,  subsequently,  the  German 
Diets  presented  as  nuisances  which  required  abate- 


20  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

ment,  he  does  not  appear,  even  when  he  began  to  act 
as  a  reformer,  to  have  directed  his  attention  at  all. 

The  truth  is,  that  the  Lutheran  Reformation  can  only- 
then  be  understood  when  the  Christian  doctrines  of 
providence,  and  the  spiritual  reign  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  his  church,  are  recollected,  and  their  princi- 
ples distinctly,  and  most  decisively  and  firmly,  applied. 
It  was  a  revival  of  religion,  effected  by  the  direct  inter- 
ference of  God  himself.  It  is  not  true  that  all  direct 
interference  is  miraculous.  Miraculous  interposition 
sets  aside  or  controls  nature  ;  but  there  is  an  interposi- 
tion not  less  direct,  which  works  along  with  nature, 
and  by  means  of  it.  Such  an  interposition  is  evidently 
supposed  by  the  important  maxim  of  the  administration 
of  the  divine  government,  which  is  given  by  the  pro- 
phet Isaiah,  chap,  lix,  19,  "When  the  enemy  shall 
come  in  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  up 
a  standard  against  him."  And  this  lifting  up  of  the 
standard,  to  which  all  the  loyal  would  flock,  is  con- 
nected with  a  remarkable  promise  of  the  Redeemer's 
presence  in  his  church  ;  a  spiritual  presence,  of  course, 
and  manifested  by  its  fruits  of  peace,  and  joy,  and 
righteousness :  "  And  the  Redeemer  shall  come  to 
Zion,  and  unto  them  that  turn  from  transgression  in 
Jacob"  verse  20.  Compare  this  with  the  solemn 
language  of  Christ  himself,  John  xiv,  21,  23,  "He 
that  hath  my  commandments,  and  keepeth  them,  he  it 
is  that  loveth  me  ;  and  he  that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved 
of  my  Father,  and  I  will  love  him,  and  will  manifest 
myself  to  him.  If  a  man  love  me,  he  will  keep  my 
words  :  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will  come 
to  him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him."  This  is  the 
spiritual  presence  of  Christ  in  his  church ;  and  it  was 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  21 

by  this  that  Luther  was  shown  to  have  been  God's 
honoured  instrument  of  reclaiming  the  wanderer  to  the 
true  fold. 

Luther  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  concentrating  in 
himself  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and  acting  accordingly. 
He  cannot  be  understood, — in  fact,  he  is  not  under- 
stood,— either  in  his  character  or  conduct,  except  by 
those  who  view  him,  with  all  his  subordinate  errors 
and  imperfections,  as  a  spiritual  Christian,  and  as  God's 
instrument  for  checking  the  progress  of  the  enemy,  and 
rolling  back  the  tide  of  error  and  sin.  Luther  did  not 
begin  by  complaining  of  the  ignorance  that  prevailed ; 
nor  of  the  bondage  in  which  men  were  held.  He  did 
not  begin  by  asserting  the  true  rights  of  conscience ; 
no,  nor  even  by  proclaiming  the  supremacy  of  God's 
word,  and  vindicating  the  sacred  privilege  of  perusing 
the  Scriptures  against  all  opposers.  He  had  himself 
been  brought  to  understand,  and  personally  to  enjoy, 
the  essential  principle  of  religion,  subjectively  considered. 
He  had  felt  the  accusations  of  conscience,  as  instructed 
by  the  holy  law  of  God.  He  had  sought  for  peace  in 
the  religious  practice  of  the  day,  and  he  had  sought  for 
it  in  vain.  At  length,  he  was  shown  that  religion  for 
fallen  man  was  founded  in  "  salvation ;"  and  that  the 
gate  of  salvation  was  "  the  remission  of  sins,"  or  justi- 
fication. This  justification  he  saw,  from  the  Scriptures, 
and  especially  from  the  writings  of  St.  Paul,  to  be 
attainable  by  faith  alone ;  a  relying,  appropriating, 
spiritual  faith,  fixing  directly  on  the  blood  of  Christ, 
acknowledging  that  we  are  saved  most  freely  by  the 
grace  of  God,  and  rejoicing  in  the  efficiency  and  ful- 
ness of  the  grace  which  saves.  This  faith  Luther  had 
exercised,  and  its  blessed  fruits  he  had  himself  expe- 


22  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

rienced.  He  knew  what  it  was  to  be  justified  by  faith, 
and  to  have  peace  "with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

And  here  was  his  preparation  for  the  work  in  which 
he  was  afterward  called  to  engage.  Dr.  Robertson 
most  strangely  misrepresents  the  obvious  facts  of  the 
case,  when  he  represents  Luther  as  beginning  by 
opposing  the  sale  of  indulgences,  and  as  being  led,  by 
the  studies  which  he  found  necessary  for  the  success- 
ful prosecution  of  his  task,  to  examine  the  subject  of 
justification.  Exactly  the  reverse  is  the  fact ;  the  fact 
testified  by  the  clearest  declarations  of  his  personal 
history.  He  studied  the  question  of  justification  first. 
And  he  studied  it  not  as  a  scholastic  subject,  but  as 
being  most  intimately  connected  with  personal  obliga- 
tions and  privileges.  He  not  only  studied  it,  as  a  truth 
which  the  Scriptures  teaqh ;  but  he  experienced  it,  as  a 
blessing  which  the  Scriptures  promise. 

And  thus  was  Luther  prepared  in  his  cell  for  the 
work  he  had  to  do  in  the  world,  by  the  Spirit  of  God . 
blessing  his  devout  perusal  of  Scripture,  his  earnest 
prayers,  his  deep  and  penitential  sorrow  of  spirit,  and 
his  conversation  with  his  religious  friends.  And  thus, 
too,  did  the  Spirit  of  God  lift  up  the  standard  against 
the  enemy.  /Understanding  the  true  doctrines  of  re- 
pentance and  faith,  he  saw  the  practical  mischief  of 
indulgences,  as  they  were  then  hawked  about,  and 
puffed,  and  sold  by  the  Papal  emissaries.  At  first  he 
saw  no  further,  and  went  no  further.  But  his  opponents 
compelled  him  to  advance,  however  reluctant.  He  had 
thus  to  examine  the  whole  question ;  and  then  its  sup- 
ports ;  and  so  on,  till  the  whole  scheme  of  Papalism 
was  before  him.    He  set  out  with  the  doctrine  of  justi- 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  23 

fication  by  faith,  regarded  as  the  very  gate  of  salvation, 
as  leading  to  all  spiritual  happiness  and  holiness.  He 
knew  he  was  thus  far  right,  and  he  worked  his 
way  by  careful,  honest,  and  prayerful  inquiry ;  using 
in  that  inquiry  all  proper  human  helps,  and  valuing 
them  in  proportion  as  he  found  them  more  and  more 
free  from  the  taintings  of  the  mystery  of  iniquity :  but 
he  rested  in  the  Bible  alone.  "This,"  he  said,  "is 
the  true  antiquity.  It  is  here  that  God  speaks."  Like 
the  other  reformers,  he  knew  the  value  of  the  early 
fathers,  and  was  able  to  make  good  use  of  them,  both 
in  study  and  controversy ;  but  as  the  standard  of  reli- 
gious belief,  to  which  even  that  which  the  fathers  say 
must  be  referred,  "  the  Bible,  the  Bible  alone,  was 

THE  RELIGION"  OF  LUTHER. 

This,  then,  is  the  light  in  which  we  view  the  Lu- 
theran Reformation.  We  see  in  it  a  remarkable  illus- 
tration of  the  rule  of  the  divine  government  quoted 
above.  The  enemy  had  come  in  as  a  flood,  and  the 
deluge  seemed  likely  to  be  universal.  Human  embank- 
ments were  all  swept  away  by  it.  The  means  by 
which  it  was  sought  to  impede  its  progress,  only  occa- 
sioned its  waves  to  rise  the  higher,  and  gather  weight 
and  force,  till  these  new  obstructions  shared  the  fate  of 
all  former  ones.  Everything  tended  to  the  aggrandize- 
ment of  Rome,  till  Luther  brought  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith  to  bear  upon  the  question  of  in- 
dulgences. And  as  the  same  spear  that  detected  the 
audacious  fiend,  seeking  to  hide  himself  in  the  squalid 
reptile,  compelled  him,  when  revealed,  to  give  way; 
so  did  the  power  of  this  doctrine  drive  back  the  evils 
whose  proper  character  it  had  so  completely  exposed. 
The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  had  now  lifted  up  the  standard, 


24  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

and  the  tokens  of  the  Redeemer's  gracious  presence 
in  his  church  began  to  be  experienced.  The  raging 
of  the  enemy,  too,  proved  that  he  felt  the  efficiency  of 
the  check  now  opposed  to  his  further  progress.  In  all 
ages  the  faithful  administration  of  the  true  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ  has  been  God's  great  instrument  in  the 
revival  of  his  work,  when,  by  the  sinful  carelessness 
of  men,  it  has  been  suffered  to  fall  into  a  state  of  inac- 
tivity and  decay. 

It  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  the  proper  cha- 
racter of  the  Reformation,  as  being  originally  a  revival 
of  spiritual  religion,  effected  by  the  faithful  announce- 
ment of  evangelical  truth,  be  distinctly  understood.  It 
is  true,  that  as  many  of  the  grievances  fastened  on 
Germany  by  the  Roman  usurpation  were  of  a  political 
nature,  and  therefore  felt  in  all  their  weight  by  the 
various  governments  of  the  empire,  so  it  was  to  be 
expected  that  its  different  princes'  would  gladly  avail 
themselves  of  the  first  outbreak  of  opposition,  that  their 
own  demand  for  redress  might  be  strengthened.  Mixed 
up,  therefore,  with  the  early  Reformation,  and  not  un- 
frequently  modifying  its  character,  and  influencing  its 
direction,  we  may  expect  to  find  worldly  considerations 
and  political  movements.  These,  however,  rather  ac- 
companied, than  constituted,  the  Reformation.  The 
Reformation  itself  was  begun  by  a  spiritual  man,  acting 
upon  spiritual  principles,  and  aiming  at  spiritual  objects. 
Luther  was  not  a  worldly  politician,  but  a  true  Chris- 
tian. It  is  impossible  to  read  his  writings,  and  study 
his  history,  provided  the  nature  of  spiritual  religion  be 
itself  understood,  without  seeing  that  he  earnestly  de- 
sired the  promotion  of  religion  in  the  world  ;  not  only 
as  believing  that  thus  would  the  social  welfare  of  men 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  25 

be  advanced,  but  (and  this  was  his  chief  object)  that 
their  spiritual  and  eternal  salvation  might  be  secured. 
Political  consequences  of  great  importance  have  doubt- 
less resulted  from  the  movements  of  Luther ;  but  it 
was  not  for  political  results  that  he  laboured,  (jf  ever 
man  felt  himself  to  be  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  bound 
to  a  faithful  delivery  of  the  divine  message,  whoever 
might  be  pleased,  whoever  displeased,  Martin  Luther 
was  that  man.  i)  He  fejt  himsel  ic  be  providentially 
called  to  expose  abuses  by  which  the  name  of  Christ 
was  dishonoured,  and  the  eternal  interests  of  men  put 
in  jeopardy.  These  abuses  he  took  care  to  describe 
according  to  what  he  knew  was  their  actual  character 
and  tendency.  He  could  not  talk  of  the  innocency  of 
errors  that  imperilled  souls.  He  could  not  deal  with 
bold  hypocrisy  as  a  mere  mistake  of  the  judgment. 
And  he  was  the  more  decided  in  his  movements,  and 
the  bolder  in  his  expressions,  for  that  he  felt  that  any 
mistakes  he  might  make  would  be  practically  neutral- 
ized by  the  caution  and  forbearance  of  his  coadjutor 
and  friend,  Philip  Melancthon.  Luther  was  not  the 
passionate,  worldly,  disputing  politician,  mixing  theo- 
logy with  his  polemical  engagements.  That  occa- 
sionally his  earnestness  made  him  harsh,  and,  for  the 
time,  overbearing,  may  as  easily  be  admitted,  as  that 
the  caution  and  forbearance  of  Melancthon  exposed 
him  to  the  attacks  of  timidity  and  cowardice.  But 
these  occasional  outbreaks  show  rather  the  man's 
natural  temperament  than  his  actual  and  Christian 
character.  Besides,  the  customs  of  the  age  allowed  a 
far  greater  latitude  in  controversial  language  than  is 
conceded  by  the  rules  of  modern  debate.  Harshness 
of  polemic  expression  does  not  always  indicate  harsh- 


til 


26  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

ness  of  temper  ;  nor  does  even  an  occasional  outbreak 
of  passion  (most  mourned,  perhaps,  by  the  individual 
himself)  prove  that  resentment  and  anger  are  the  pre- 
vailing dispositions  of  the  mind.  Luther  himself  was 
a  Christian  man  ;  and  the  work  in  which  he  engaged 
was,  so  far  as  himself  and  his  immediate  associates 
were  engaged,  a  Christian  work. 

Laying  on  one  side,  therefore,  the  secondary  and 
political  results  of  the  Reformation,  as  being — though 
they  present  a  magnificent  subject,  of  contemplation* — 
foreign  to  the  present  inquiry  ;  and  likewise  laying  on 
one  side  what  may  be  termed  the  political  adjuncts  of 
the  Reformation  ;  against  many  of  which  Luther  con- 
tended, and  to  all  of  which  he  sought  to  give  as  far  as 
possible  a  truly  spiritual  character  ;  looking  at  the  work 
itself,  in  its  origin  and  in  its  objects,  we  again  call  it  a 
revival  of  spiritual  religion,  effected  by  the  faithful 
enunciation  of  divine  truth. 

The  history  of  Luther,  we  think,  can  scarcely  be 
studied  without  a  clear  perception  of  the  fact  that,  by 
his  means,  there  was  a  broad  distinction  made  between 
what  may  be  termed  the  religion  of  extemalism,  and 
the  religion  of  spirituality.  When  the  English  re- 
formers began  to  advance  the  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith,  their  Romanist  adversaries  replied,  that,  even 
if  it  were  true,  it  was  needless  to  preach  it  in  England, 
for  that  all  the  people  there  had  already  been  justified 
in  their  baptism.  Justification  was  thus  described  as 
a  general  blessing,  the  actual  possession  of  which  was 
ministered  by  baptism.     This  was — and  indeed  still 

*  Viller's  "  Essay  on  the  Spirit  and  Influence  of  the  Reforma- 
tion of  Luther"  should  be  studied  on  this  particular  branch  of 
the  subject. 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  27 

is — the  essence  of  Popery,  the  supposed  admission  to 
spiritual  blessings  by  the  performance  of  external  rites. 
Whereas  the  reformers  everywhere  went  forth,  not 
undervaluing  the  sacraments  of  Christ's  ordination; 
making  them,  in  fact,  all  the  more  venerable,  by  re- 
storing them  to  their  original  number  and  position ;  but 
these  holy  men  everywhere  went  forth  preaching  that 
justification  consisted  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  that 
this  was  to  be  received  by  faith  in  Christ ;  that  this 
faith  did  not  consist  in  the  mere  belief  of  Christian 
doctrines,  however  correct  and  extensive  it  might  be, 
but  in  appropriation  and  reliance,  its  object  being  the 
infinitely-meritorious  sacrifice  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Religion,  in  a  word,  as  taught  by  them,  was  personal 
and  spiritual ;  its  distinctive  sign  being  justification  by 
faith  alone. 

If,  then,  the  Reformation  which  began  by  the  preach- 
ing of  Luther  has  been  a  blessing  to  the  world,  the 
only  way  to  preserve  the  blessing,  and  to  render  it 
more  complete  and  extensive,  is  by  the  faithful  main- 
tenance, and  energetic  delivery,  of  its  grand  principle, 
and  characteristic  sign, — justification  by  faith.  Unless 
the  standard  be  kept  lifted  up,  the  ebbing  tide  will  turn 
once  more.  The  doctrines  of  Tridentine  Popery,  and 
the  doctrines  necessarily  connected  with  the  primary 
one  of  personal  justification  by  faith,  can  never  coalesce. 
They  belong  to  totally  different  schemes  of  religion ; 
and  one  of  them  must  be  false.  One  of  them  must 
inevitably  be  another  gospel.  True  Protestants 
who  understand  the  nature  of  the  system  revived  by 
Luther,  see  in  it  that  gospel  which  St.  Paul  preached, 
and  concerning  which  he  said,  "  It  pleased  God  by 
the  foolishness  of  preaching  to  save  them  that  believe." 


28  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

And  seeing  this,  they  will  likewise  see  that  thus  only 
can  Protestantism  itself  be  preserved,  thus  only  can 
its  blessings  be  extended  ;  even  by  this  same  clear  and 
impressive  statement  of  the  distinguishing  truths  of  the 
gospel.  The  holy  law  of  God  must  be  preached,  that 
men  may  see  they  need  salvation,  and  that  they  cannot 
save  themselves.  And  then,  after  the  example  of  Lu- 
ther, there  must  be  a  faithful,  that  is,  a  clear  and  an 
earnest,  declaration  of  the  gospel ;  namely,  the  offer 
of  pardon,  and  peace,  and  spiritual  influence,  in  and 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  be  received  by  a 
living,  spiritual  faith  in  his  all-atoning  merits.  Let  all 
Protestant  pulpits  be  characterized  by  the  faithful 
ministrations  of  their  occupants.  Let  justification  by 
faith,  and  all  that  it  implies,  be  powerfully  and  con- 
sistently proclaimed ;  and  though  of  late  the  enemy 
has  been  loud  in  his  vauntings,  and  (if  he  is  to  be  be- 
lieved) is  again  advancing  as  a  flood.,  let  but  the  pulpits 
of  the  land  resound  with  the  old  Protestant  preaching 
of  that  wholesome  and  most  comfortable  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith  only,  and,  even  were  their  boast- 
ings true,  all  occasion  for  them  would  rapidly  vanish. 
Let  the  standard  be  lifted  up,  and  the  enemy  shall  be 
driven  back.  Popery  never  dares  trust  herself  to  the 
combat  when  she  can  avoid  it.  The  opposing  doctrine 
is  never  allowed  in  Papal  countries  the  liberty  which 
Papal  demagogues  demand  in  Protestant  countries. 
We  repeat  it,  let  the  standard  be  lifted  up,  and  the 
enemy  shall  be  driven  back.  Popery  can  never  pre- 
vail, unless  Protestantism  become  unfaithful  and  inert. 


INTRODUCTION. 


If  we  were  required  to  select  a  period  in  the  modern 
history  of  Europe  in  which  the  wise  and  beneficent 
providence  of  the  Almighty  might  be  thought  to  have 
been  most  conspicuously  manifested,  in  bending  to  its 
own  will  the  tendencies  of  human  action,  and  causing 
"  all  things  to  work  together  "  for  the  preparation  and 
unfolding  of  a  great  moral  revolution  in  the  condition 
of  the  world,  we  should  probably  fix  upon  that  lapse 
of  time  which  extended  from  the  latter  part  of  the 
eleventh  to  the  sixteenth  century.  It  is,  indeed,  a 
matter  of  peculiar  and  delightful  interest  to  observe 
how,  during  that  period,  events  which,  to  mere  human 
foresight,  would  seem  to  have  promised  the  most  oppo- 
site results,  were  surely,  though  insensibly,  under- 
mining the  strength  of  that  vast  system  of  spiritual 
tyranny  and  falsehood  which  imprisoned  and  oppressed 
the  moral  reason  of  men,  and  laying  the  foundations 
of  a  B  ^formation,  the  magnitude  and  immortal  value 
of  whose  consequences  can  never  be  fully  appreciated 
on  this  side  of  the  grave. 

When  the  celebrated  Peter  the  Hermit  travelled  the 
countries  of  Europe,  inviting  monarchs  and  their  iron- 
clad subjects  to  league  themselves  in  a  frantic  expedi- 
tion for  the  recovery  of  the  holy  sepulchre, — holding 
out  to  them,  as  a  chief  inducement,  the  promise  of  par- 
don for  past,  and  impunity  for  future,  sins, — who  could 


30  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

have  seen,  in  the  insane  fanaticism,  the  ferocious  zeal 
and  arrogant  pretensions  of  that  crazy  enthusiast,  the 
germ  of  an  evil  that  was  to  smite  the  fabric  of  corrup- 
tion out  of  which 'it  sprang?  whg  could  have  then  an- 
ticipated the  growth  of  a  practice  which  was  destined, 
by  awakening  the  indignant  resistance  and  holy  scorn 
of  a  great  and  noble  spirit,  instrumentally  to  subserve 
the  highest  interests  of  humanity ;  to  shake  the  throne 
of  the  oppressor ;  to  break  the  spell  of  a  corrupt  eccle- 
siastical domination;  and  to  rescue  the  word  of  God 
itself  from  that  oblivion  to  which  it  had  been  long  and 
basely  consigned  1 

Of  indulgences,  the  sale  of  which  was  the  proximate 
occasion  of  the  dispute  between  Luther  and  the  Roman 
Church,  we  find  no  record  prior  to  the  pontificate  of 
Gregory  III.  By  that  pope,  as  by  Victor  and  Urban 
II.,  they  would  appear  to  have  been  originally  and  ex- 
clusively used  for  the  purpose  which  we  have  indicated ; 
namely,  that  of  exciting  the  superstitious  chivalry  of 
the  age  to  embark  in  that  series  of  splendid  absurdities, 
(from  which  nevertheless  so  many  mighty  consequences 
issued,)  which  are  known  to  history  by  the  name  of  the 
Crusades.  Pope  Clement  XII.,  however,  finding  how 
largely  advantageous  to  the  consolidation  and  nr^'nte- 
nance  of  the  Papal  power  this  monstrous  inve  tion 
might  be  rendered,  extended  the  granting  of  indulgences 
to  all  persons  who  assisted  to  extirpate  heretics ;  thus 
setting  a  premium  upon  the  indiscriminate  murder  of 
dissentients  from  the  Roman  creed  and  ritual !  It  is 
easy  to  perceive  how  the  use  of  auricular  confession, 
and  priestly  absolution,  led  the  way  to  this  wilder  blas- 
phemy and  ampler  usurpation.  The  assumption,  by  the 
church,  of  the  divine  prerogative,  to  forgive  sins,  and 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  31 

the  general  submission  of  the  ignorant  and  rude  war- 
riors of  the  middle  ages  to  that  impious  assumption, 
naturally  enough  suggested  to  a  crafty  and  ambitious 
hierarchy  the  wider  purposes  of  aggrandizement,  to 
which  the  authority,  so  audaciously  usurped,  might  be 
applied.  As  a  source  of  revenue,  indeed,  nothing  could 
have  been  contrived  better  adapted  to  yield  an  inex- 
haustible fund  to  the  exchequer  of  the  Vatican.  Of  all 
the  articles  that  financial  ingenuity  ever  imagined  to 
tax,  none  so  fruitful  as  vice  can  be  conceived.  And 
when  we  recollect  how  utterly  the  popular  judgment, 
throughout  Europe,  had  succumbed  to  the  fiction  of  the 
divine  right  and  consequent  infallibility  of  the  head  of 
the  Roman  Church,  we  cease  to  be  astonished  at  the 
insolent  impiety  of  the  pontiffs,  who,  in  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries,  had  recourse  to  such  flagitious 
and  profligate  means  of  raising  money  for  the  erection 
of  that  matchless  cathedral  at  Rome,  which  is  not  more 
a  prodigy  of  art,  and  a  stupendous  token  of  the  genius 
of  its  architects  and  decorators,  than  it  is  a  monument 
of  the  profound  depravity,  darkness,  and  credulous 
superstition  of  the  whole  European  community,  and  a 
record  of  the  revival  of  pure  and  unadulterated  Chris- 
tianity. 

Julius  II.,  in  whose  reign,  as  pope,  (1503-1513,) 
was  commenced  the  building  of  St.  Peter's,  issued  in- 
dulgences to  all  persons  who  should  contribute  toward 
the  expenses  of  that  marvellous  structure.  The  ordi- 
nary revenues  of  the  Papacy,  enormous  as  they  were 
could  hardly  have  sufficed,  in  many  years,  for  the  com- 
pletion of  so  vast  and  gorgeous  an  edifice.  But  when 
to  Julius,  himself  a  liberal  encourager  of  the  fine  arts, 
succeeded  (1513)  the  luxurious  and  princely  Leo  X., 


32  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

the  superb  prodigality  and  ostentatious  magnificence 
with  which  it  was  his  delight  to  surround  himself,  ren- 
dered more  urgent  the  demand  for  extraordinary  sup- 
plies, to  meet  the  prodigious  expenditure  required  for 
the  completion  of  the  cathedral.  Accordingly,  in  the 
year  1517,  Leo,  following  up  the  project  of  his  pre- 
decessor, sent  forth  a  bull,  offering  to  every  one  who 
would  purchase,  at  the  appointed  price,  indulgences, 
which  assumed  not  only  to  remit  past  transgressions, 
but  to  give  license  for  future  immoralities.* 

The  personal  character  of  this  pope  has  been,  in  a 
great  measure,  rescued  from  the  infamy  that  justly  at- 
taches to  it,  by  the  kind  of  halo  which  their  munificent 
patronage  of  letters  and  the  arts  has  thrown  around  the 
names  of  the  whole  family  of  the  Medici.  With  all 
the  eminent  powers  of  intellect,  and  the  fine  taste, 
which  he  undoubtedly  possessed,  he  seems  to  have 
been  little  better  than  a  refined  sensualist — a  life-long 
reveller  in  a  species  of  magnificent  voluptuousness, 
which  was  only  redeemed  from  utter  brutality  and 

*  In  the  "  Tax-Book  of  the  Holy  Apostolic  Church,"  pub- 
lished at  Rome,  in  1514,  the  authorship  of  which  is  imputed  to 
Pope  Innocent  III.,  the  following  rates  of  charge  for  various 
offences  are  specified : — For  fornication,  if  attended  with  circum- 
stances of  aggravation,  six  groats :  for  incest,  five  groats :  for  a 
priest  keeping  a  concubine,  seven  groats :  for  a  layman  commit- 
ting murder,  five  groats  :  for  laying  violent  hands  on  a  priest, 
nine  groats  :  for  counterfeiting  the  pope's  hand-writing,  seventeen 
or  eighteen  groats.  Setting  aside  the  iniquity  of  the  whole  sys- 
tem of  indulgence  for  any  species  of  crime,  the  ethical  scale, 
which  considers  incest  and  murder  as  crimes  of  less  weight  than 
forgery  of  the  pontiff's  name,  or  personal  maltreatment  of  a 
priest,  may  serve  to  give  us  some  idea  of  the  execrable  morality 
of  the  Vatican. 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  33 

grossness  by  a  large  and  bright  imagination.  That  he 
was  selfish,  profligate,  and  addicted  to  scandalous  im- 
purities of  life,  is  undeniable  ;  and  while  we  agree  with 
his  English  historian  in  acquitting  him  of  deliberate 
and  sordid  avarice,  and  of  the  malversation  which  has 
been  charged  upon  him,  of  the  pontifical  revenues,  we 
are  persuaded,  from  the  whole  tenor  of  his  public  and 
private  conduct,  his  reckless  disregard  of  all  forms  and 
semblance  of  ecclesiastical  propriety  and  decency  in 
the  selection  of  the  individuals  whom  he  appointed  to 
dispose  of  the  indulgences,  and  his  subsequent  indif- 
ference, until  indifference  could  no  longer  be  affected, 
to  the  proceedings,  arguments,  and  protestations  of 
Luther,  that  he  was,  in  his  heart,  without  doubt,  as 
were  many  of  his  contemporaries  in  the  priesthood,  a 
thorough  unbeliever,  not  only  in  the  peculiar  and  absurd 
dogmas  of  his  own  church,  but  in  many,  if  not  all,  of 
the  cardinal  truths  of  the  Christian  religion. 

This  man  it  was,  who,  having  promulgated  his  bull 
for  the  unlimited  sale  of  indulgences,  with  a  singular 
and  unaccountable  fatuity,  devolved  the  conduct  of  that 
unhallowed  traffic  upon  some  of  the  most  abandoned, 
ignorant,  and  worthless  persons  that  ever  dishonoured 
the  cowl  and  tonsure.  As  a  matter  of  mere  policy, 
this  was  a  gross  and  flagrant  error ;  for  the  passage  of 
the  rescripts  of  pardon  through  such  hands  could  not 
fail  to  derogate  from  the  popular  opinion  of  their  worth, 
and  weaken  the  respect  in  which  their  author,  by  rea- 
son of  his  office,  was  generally  held.  But  when  such 
men  as  Tetzel  and  Arcumboldo  were  put  forward  as 
the  disposers  and  champions  of  the  indulgences,  chal- 
lenging for  them  a  prospective  efficacy,  which  the  pope, 
in  his  brief,  had  not  ventured  to  claim,  and  alleging 
2* 


34  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

that  they  would  avail  to  protect  their  purchasers  from 
the  penalty  of  crimes,  the  very  mention  of  which  must 
have  outraged  every  honest  and  undoubting  Romanist, 
it  necessarily  happened  that  those  who  entertained 
misgivings  as  to  the  real  existence  of  a  right  in  the 
sovereign  pontiff  to  grant  such  dispensations,  were 
driven  to  fortify  their  previous  suspicions,  to  look  nar- 
rowly at  the  grounds  on  which  the  exorbitant  pretensions 
of  the  indulgence-mongers  rested,  and  in  the  end  to 
discover  their  total  futility  and  contrarience  to  reason 
and  to  revelation. 

Such  was  the  effect  of  this  revolting  farce,  this  hide- 
ous imposture,  upon  the  mind  of  Luther.  Previously 
aware,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  of  the  fearful  omis- 
sions and  concealment  of  great  part  of  the  whole  truth 
of  God  which  obtained  in  the  Romish  Church,  he  was 
thus  brought  into  immediate  collision  with  one  of  the 
most  tremendous  of  the  unwarranted  additions  which 
that  church  had  dared  to  append  to  the  revealed  ex- 
pression of  his  will.  By  a  singular  providence,  one 
of  those  remarkable  arrangements  for  which  the  whole 
world,  through  all  time,  and  beyond  all  time,  will  have 
reason  to  be  deeply  thankful,  he  had  been  guided  to  a 
convent,  where  he  had  access  to  a  solitary  copy,  in 
Latin,  of  the  Bible.  To  the  arbitration  of  that  Bible 
did  he,  in  a  devout  and  fervent  spirit,  submit  the  entire 
subject  of  dispute;  and  the  issue  was — the  Reforma- 
tion. 


THE 


LIFE    OF  MARTIN   LUTHER 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  precise  date  of  the  great  reformer's  birth  was, 
during  his  lifetime,  and  for  some  years  after  his  de- 
cease, frequently  brought  into  question.  Some  of  his 
enemies  betook  themselves  to  astrological  calculations, 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  certain  portentous  as- 
pects of  the  heavenly  bodies  had  given  warning  of  the 
advent  of  the  great  heresiarch,  as  he  was  styled ;  •  and 
when  it  was  found  that  this  curious  sort  of  ex  post  facto 
evidence  of  his  iniquity,  deduced  from  a  foregone  and 
dubious  prophecy,  was  not  quite  borne  out  by  the  actual 
position  of  the  stars  on  the  true  day  of  his  entrance 
into  the  world,  two  of  these  sapient  astrologers,  Jerome 
Carden  and  Florimond  de  Redmond,  were  pleased  to 
dispense  with  fact  altogether,  and  to  fix  the  commence- 
ment of  his  "  lease  of  life"  upon  the  22d  of  October, 
1483  ;  for  no  other  reason  than  that  they  were  thus 
enabled  to  bring  his  nativity  under  the  dire  combina- 
tion, in  which  they  affected  to  read  a  premonition  of 
his  infamy  and  wickedness.  Another  writer,  and  a 
Romish  prelate,  Gauricus  by  name,  subtracts  a  whole 
year,  and  maintains  that  Luther's  birth  occurred  in 


36  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

October,  1484.  "Five  planets,"  says  this  author, 
"  being  in  conjunction  under  Scorpio,  in  the  ninth  sta- 
tion, which  was  by  the  Arabians  allotted  to  religion, 
made  him  a  sacrilegious  and  profane  heretic.  From 
the  direction  of  the  horoscope  toward  the  conjunction 
of  Mars,  he  died  without  religion.  His  most  impious 
soul  sailed  away  to  hell,  to  be  there  eternally  tormented 
with  fiery  whips  by  Alecto,  Tisiphone,  and  Megaera."* 
Of  the  last-mentioned  and  not  very  amiable  lady,  in- 
deed, one  of  his  monkish  calumniators  makes  him  out 
to  have  been  the  son ;  alleging  that  "  he  was  born  of 
Megara,  one  of  the  Furies,  and  sent  from  hell  into  Ger- 
many "\ 

From  these  ridiculous  figments,  which  would  else 
be  too  trivial  to  be  worth  noticing,  we  may  form  some 
conception  of  the  strange  jumble  of  barbarous  and 
pagan  legends  which,  having  formed  the  basis  of  all 
the  doctrinal  errors  of  their  faith,  had  come,  in  process 
of  time,  to  be  intimately  mixed  up  with  the  prevalent 
and  contemptible  theology  of  the  Romish  clergy ;  as 
well  as  of  the  impotent  and  imbecile  malignity  with 
which  they  sought  to  inflame  the  public  mind  against 
the  man  who  had  torn  the  veil  from  some  of  their  most 
odious  impositions,  and  exposed  the  hollowness  of  their 
impudent  and  tyrannical  pretensions. 

It  was  on  the  10th  day  of  November,  1483,  that 
Martin  Luther  first  saw  the  light,  at  the  small  town 
of  Eisleben,  in  the  county  of  Mansfeldt,  in  Upper 
Saxony.  His  father,  John  Luther,  Lutter,  or  Luder, 
and  Margaret  Linderman,  his  mother,  were  both  of 

*  Lucus  Gauricus,  in  Tractatu  Astrologico,  &c,  fol.  60 
t  Cajetanus,  Hirud.,  lib.  i. 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  37 

them  natives  of  the  same  district.  They  resided  in 
the  inconsiderable  village  of  Meza,  distant  only  a  few 
miles  from  the  place  of  the  reformer's  birth.  To  that 
place  his  mother,  who,  according  to  the  very  general 
custom  of  her  country,  eked  out  the  scanty  resources 
of  her  family  by  personal  labour  in  the  fields,  had  re- 
paired, in  order  to  be  present  at  an  annual  fair,  when 
ehe  was  seized  with  the  pains  of  premature  labour,  and 
gave  birth  to  her  child  in  a  house  which  a  few  years 
afterward  was  burnt  to  the  ground.  Subsequently  it 
was  rebuilt  at  the  expense  of  the  town,  and  is  at  pre- 
sent converted  into  a  public  school,  to  which  is  ap- 
pended an  institution  for  the  relief  and  maintenance  of 
the  poor. 

The  father  of  Luther  was  employed  as  a  workman 
in  the  mines,  which  abound  in  his  native  province  ;  an 
occupation  of  the  humblest  rank,  and  yielding  in  those 
days  only  a  miserable  pittance  as  the  reward  of  severe 
toil.  But,  poor  as  were  Luther's  parents,  they,  with  a 
laudable  ambition  which  has  never  been  rare  in  Ger- 
many, determined  to  procure  for  him  the  best  educa- 
tion within  their  reach.  With  this  view,  they  placed 
him  under  the  care  of  one  George  iEmilius,  of  whom 
little  is  known,  except  that  he  was  a  respectable 
scholar,  and  an  ecclesiastic.  Some  rudimental  instruc- 
tion Luther  would  appear  to  have  received  under  the 
domestic  roof;  where,  we  are  told,  he  so  far  profited 
by  the  exemplary  piety  and  general  conduct  of  his 
nearest  relatives,  as  to  evince,  from  a  very  early  age, 
tokens  of  a  disposition  as  remarkable  for  its  conscien- 
tious and  unusual  seriousness,  as  were  his  aptitude  and 
diligence  for  the  native  vigour  of  understanding  which 
they  disclosed.     His  first  regular  preceptor,  however, 


38  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

was  iEmilius,  who,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  subse- 
quent and  rapid  progress  of  his  illustrious  pupil  in  every 
branch  of  learning,  must  have  discharged  his  duty  with 
ability  and  zeal.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  Luther  was 
removed  to  a  public  school  at  Magdeburg,  in  which, 
conformably  to  a  usage  which  has  commonly  obtained 
among  students  of  all  classes  in  various  parts  of  Ger- 
many, he  supported  himself  for  upward  of  fifteen  months 
by  literal  begging.  At  the  close  of  that  term  he  was 
transferred  to  a  larger,  and  somewhat  celebrated,  estab- 
lishment, at  Eisenach,  in  Thuringia.  There  he  re- 
mained for  four  years,  subsisting  and  defraying  the 
expenses  incident  to  the  prosecution  of  his  studies  by 
the  eleemosynary  assistance  of  the  inhabitants.  "  Let 
no  one,"  he  says,  in  reference  to  this  portion  of  his 
history,  "  let  no  one  in  my  presence  despise  those  poor 
people  who  go  from  door  to  door,  saying,  '  Bread,  for 
the  sake  of  God !'  (Panem,  propter  Deum !)  for  I  my- 
self have  been  a  poor  mendicant,  and  have  received 
bread  at  the  doors  of  many  a  house,  especially  in 
Eisenach,  the  town  of  my  lore."  On  these  occasions, 
when  pressed  with  hunger,  he  would  join  some  of  his 
fellow-scholars  in  singing  in  the  streets  to  obtain  a 
morsel  of  bread.  His  voice  was  good,  and  he  was 
strongly  attached  to  music ;  so  that,  with  his  com- 
panions, he  not  unfrequently  furnished  a  pleasing  street- 
concert  ;  but,  in  return,  he  often  received  only  harsh 
words.  Once,  in  particular,  he  had  been  repulsed  from 
three  houses,  and  was  about  to  return  fasting  to  his 
lodging,  when  he  was  noticed  by  a  pious  woman, 
named  Ursula,  the  wife  of  Conrad  Cotta,  a  burgher  of 
the  place.  He  was  himself  fearing  that  he  should  have 
to  renounce  his  studies,  and  go  to  work  with  his  father 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  39 

in  the  mines  of  Mansfeldt :  but  this  good  woman  pitied 
his  forlorn  appearance,  and  not  only  relieved  his  pre- 
sent wants,  but,  having  introduced  him  to  her  husband, 
the  honest  burgher  was  so  much  pleased  with  him,  that 
in  a  few  days  afterward  he  took  him  to  live  in  his 
house. 

He  now  enjoyed  a  much  more  tranquil  life.  Freed 
from  the  painful  pressure  of  want,  he  pursued  his 
studies  with  increased  ardour  ;  and  by  seeing  the  hand 
of  a  kind  and  watchful  providence,  his  confidence  in 
God  was  strengthened,  and  his  love  for  prayer  in- 
creased. He  likewise  learned  to  play  on  the  flute, 
and  on  the  lute  ;  and  as  his  adoptive  mother  was  very 
fond  of  music,  he  thus  endeavoured  to  minister  to  her 
gratification  who  had  ministered  to  his  wants.  Indeed, 
to  his  old  age  his  love  for  music  continued ;  and  some 
of  the  best  of  the  old  German  hymns,  together  with 
their  tunes,  were  composed  by  him. 

In  1501,  having  achieved  considerable  distinction 
by  his  acquisitions  in  all  the  customary  departments  of 
letters  and  science,  Luther,  being  then  in  his  eighteenth 
year,  entered  himself  of  the  University  of  Erfurt,  a  city 
of  great  antiquity,  and  no  small  importance,  in  the 
Thuringian  province.  This  university,  which  had 
been  founded  rather  more  than  a  hundred  years  before, 
having  been  favoured  with  the  special  countenance  of 
the  princely  houses  of  Brunswick  and  Saxony,  which 
successively  claimed  the  sovereignty  of  Thuringia  after 
the  decadence  of  its  native  landgraves,  had  attained  to 
an  eminent  reputation  among  the  great  schools  of  cen- 
tral Europe.  Devoting  himself  with  characteristic 
energy  to  his  studies,  the  future  reformer  very  soon 
rose  into  collegiate  distinction    as  one  of  the  most 


40  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

accomplished  scholars  of  the  day.  "  The  whole  uni- 
versity," says  Melancthon,  "  admired  his  genius."  The 
arbitrary  and  strange  collection  of  antiquated  notions 
and  laborious  technicalities  which  the  schoolmen,  in 
their  blind  servility  to  the  opinions  of  Aristotle,  had 
dignified  with  the  comprehensive  name  of  philosophy, 
had,  as  may  easily  be  supposed,  but  small  charms  for 
so  masculine  an  intellect  as  was  that  of  Luther.  That 
he  did  not  utterly  neglect  to  cultivate  a  familiarity  with 
the  formal  rules,  the  solemn  phantasies,  and  elaborate 
pedantry  of  this  mass  of  superannuated  errors,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  whole  style  and  quality  of  his  writings. 
And,  indeed,  we  may  observe,  in  passing,  that  with  all 
its  fallacies  and  crude  imaginations,  its  radical  hostility 
to  the  true  spirit  and  method  of  philosophical  induction, 
the  scholastic  system  had,  at  least,  the  advantage  of 
trying  the  strength  of  the  faculties,  and  reducing  them 
into  habitual  subjection  to  a  discipline  that  was  bene- 
ficial in  proportion  to  its  stringency.  Not  only  did  it 
minister  to  the  development  and  ripening  of  the  logical 
understanding,  but  it  also  induced  a  certain  dialectic 
skill,  an  agility  of  mind,  an  artificial  keenness  of  dis- 
crimination, and  a  nicety  of  fence,  which  were  of 
singular  value  in  the  conduct  of  all  subtle  discussions. 
In  these  respects,  which,  in  truth,  were  the  only  re- 
claiming virtues  of  the  Aristotelian  philosophy  under 
its  monastic  gloss,  few  men  more  amply  profited  by 
an  acquaintance  with  the  formularies  of  that  fanciful 
philosophy  than  did  Luther.  He  gathered  from  them 
his  best  weapon  in  the  great  contest  which  was  coming: 
that  power  of  close,  shrewd,  clear,  and  pungent  argu- 
mentation, and  that  home -thrust  of  a  fatal  proof,  which 
left  his  antagonist  no  chance  of  evasion  or  escape ; 


LIFE  OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  41 

while  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  others  it  carried 
conviction  with  the  celerity  and  sureness  of  an  electric 
shock. 

It  is  by  no  means  easy  to  account  for  the  extra- 
ordinary reverence  in  which  the  dreaming  and  baseless 
theories  of  the  Stagyrite  were  held  by  the  ecclesiastical 
authorities  of  the  middle  ages.  That  this  reverence 
must  have  flowed,  collaterally,  from  the  same  causes 
which  had  mingled  so  much  of  mythological  fiction 
with  the  tenets  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  is,  perhaps, 
the  best  proximate  solution  we  can  arrive  at.  But  that 
the  absurd  figments  of  Aristotle, — such,  for  example, 
as  that,  for  doubting  which,  Galileo,  a  century  later  than 
the  time  of  Luther,  was  twice  imprisoned ;  namely,  that 
the  heavens  were  as  brass,  and  the  stars  set  in  them  as 
diamonds, — that  such  follies  should  have  been  dealt 
with  as  things  of  equal  sacredness  with  the  most  solemn 
declarations  of  holy  writ,  relative  to  the  being  and 
character  of  the  Deity,  and  the  means  of  human  salva- 
tion, must  be  regarded  as  another  and  melancholy 
illustration  of  the  depth  of  moral  darkness  and  abase- 
ment into  which  that  corrupt  church  had  lapsed.  To 
quarrel  with  any  of  the  physical  doctrines  of  Aristotle, 
or  dispute  the  soundness  of  his  ethics,  was  to  incur 
the  reproach  of  heresy;  and  while  the  Scriptures 
were,  even  to  the  great  body  of  the  monastic  clergy 
themselves,  a  sealed  and  unknown  book,  a  man's 
eternal  safety  was  represented  to  depend  upon  his  faith 
in  the  most  trivial  and  transparent  blunders  of  an  illus- 
trious heathen  speculator.  The  great  Lord  Bacon  has 
well  said,  in  a  passage  which  may  be  used  as  a  fine 
retort  of  the  imputation  of  this  sort  of  bastard  and  con- 
strictive heresy :  "  So  much  the  more  does  this  vanity 


42  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

require  to  be  curbed  and  reprehended,  because  out  of 
the  unsound  admixture  of  human  with  divine  things  is 
brought  forth  not  only  a  fantastical  philosophy,  but  also 
a  heretical  religion"* 

Consistently  with  this  exorbitant  estimation  of  the 
works  of  Aristotle,  the  general  course  of  reading  for 
students  in  theology  was  mainly  confined  to  the  writings 
of  Thomas  Aquinas,  which  affected  to  treat  of  the  capi- 
tal truths  of  religion  in  due  form  of  logic,  and  thus  to 
press  into  the  service  of  the  altar  the  entities  and  defi- 
nitions of  the  Stagyrite.  Disgusted  with  the  technical 
jargon  and  unprofitable  subtleties  which  overlaid  the 
cramped  and  barren  divinity  of  Aquinas,  Luther's  fa- 
vourite employment,  during  the  two  years  of  his  resi- 
dence at  Erfurt,  was  the  study  of  the  fathers  and  the 
early  history  of  the  church,  together  with  the  principal 
classical  authors,  as  Cicero  and  Virgil.  But  he  was 
not  a  mere  scholar.  According  to  the  light  he  pos- 
sessed, he  saw  the  need  of  divine  assistance,  and  con- 
nected his  studies  with  his  devotions.  He  began  the 
day  with  prayer ;  he  then  went  to  an  early  service  at 
the  church,  and  returned  home  to  pursue  his  scholastic 
career. 

While  he  was  thus  diligently  seeking  the  acquisition 
of  knowledge,  one  of  those  circumstances  occurred 
which,  apparently  accidental  and  even  trivial,  yet  lead 
to  a  long  train  of  important  consequences.  Amidst  all 
the  studies  of  the  young  scholar,  there  was  one  on 
which  he  had  not  yet  entered,  but  in  which  he  was  one 

*  "  Tanto  magis  hsec  vanitas  inhibenda  venit,  et  coercenda, 
quia,  ex  divinorum  et  humanorum,  malesana  admixtione,  non 
solum  educitur  philosophia  phantastica,  sed  etiam  religio  haere- 
tica." — Nov.  Org. 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  43 

day  to  excel.  On  one  occasion,  when  he  had  been 
about  two  years  at  Erfurt,  and  was  in  his  twentieth 
year,  being  in  the  library  of  the  college,  and  opening 
the  books  there  one  after  the  other  in  order  to  read  the 
names  of  the  authors,  he  opened  a  Latin  work  which 
he  had  never  before  seen.  It  was  the  Bible.  He  was 
astonished  to  find  that  the  passages  which  were  read 
to  the  people  on  Sundays  and  saints'  days  were  but  the 
fragments  of  a  great  whole.  He  read  with  eager  atten- 
tion ;  and  frequently  returned  afterward  to  what  was  to 
him  a  most  delightful  employment,  earnestly  desiring 
to  possess  such  a  work  for  himself.  Little  did  he  at 
that  time  think  that  from  him  was  Germany  soon  to 
receive  that  book  as  a  gift  for  all  her  children.  In  this 
same  year  (1503)  he  took  his  first  academical  degree. 
But  at  one  time  it  appeared  as  though  his  health  were 
to  be  the  price  of  his  success  in  study.  He  had  a 
serious  fit  of  illness,  chiefly,  it  should  seem,  of  a  nerv- 
ous character,  and  in  all  probability  produced  by  the 
excessive  labour  he  had  undergone  in  preparing  for  his 
examinations.  He  received  much  benefit  from  a  visit 
paid  him  by  an  aged  priest,  who  cheered  his  spirits, 
and  said  to  him,  "  Take  courage  :  you  will  not  die  this 
time.  God  will  make  you  one  who  shall  comfort  many 
others.  He  lays  his  cross  upon  those  whom  he  loves; 
and  they  who  bear  it  patiently  gain  much  wisdom." 

In  1505  he  was  made  master  of  arts.  The  cere- 
mony was  performed,  according  to  custom,  with  very 
great  pomp.  There  was  a  procession  with  torches, 
and  a  magnificent  festival.  And  when  all  this  was 
over,  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  decide  as  to  what 
profession  he  would  embrace,  as  the  means  of  sup- 
porting himself.     After  consulting  with  his  friends,  his 


44  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

choice  fell  upon  the  civil  law,  which,  in  those  days, 
afforded  to  young  men  of  ardour  and  ability,  whose 
birth  was  humble,  the  best,  indeed  the  only,  prospect 
of  raising  themselves  to  public  distinction.  This  was 
not,  however,  the  path  by  which  he  was  to  pass 
through  life.  A  young  man,  with  whom  he  had  been 
very  intimate,  was  assassinated.  The  sudden  death 
of  his  friend  very  seriously  affected  his  own  mind. 
He  thought  of  death  and  judgment,  and  was  filled  with 
painful  apprehension.  His  conscience  was  not  at  rest. 
Soon  after  he  visited  his  father  at  Mansfeldt ;  and,  on 
his  return  to  Erfurt,  was  overtaken  by  a  violent  storm. 
A  thunderbolt  struck  the  earth  almost  by  his  side. 
He  thought  the  hour  of  his  death  was  come,  and  he 
felt  that  to  the  fear  of  death  he  was  in  bondage.  Risen 
from  the  earth,  he  solemnly  determined  henceforward 
to  seek  after  holiness  as  eagerly  as  hitherto  he  had 
pursued  knowledge  ;  and  to  do  this,  he  resolved  to 
embrace  the  monastic  life,  that  by  the  strict  perform- 
ance of  religious  duties  he  might  obtain  peace  of  con- 
science, and  secure  the  salvation  of  his  soul.  On  the 
17th  of  August,  1505,  therefore,  he  entered  the  con- 
vent of  the  hermits  of  St.  Augustine,  at  Wittenberg,  in 
Saxony  ;  a  place  which  his  memory  has  endeared  to 
the  thoughts  of  every  devout  Protestant  in  the  world. 

For  nearly  two  years  Luther  continued  in  the  con- 
vent before  he  was  ordained  priest ;  and  these,  perhaps, 
were  the  most  eventful  years  of  his  life.  He  submitted 
to  all  the  self-abasing  duties  which  his  situation  exacted 
from  him :  he  devoted  to  study  as  much  time  as  he 
could  command  for  the  purpose  ;  reading  the  more 
pious  among  the  schoolmen,  giving  much  attention  to 
the  fathers,  especially  Augustine,  and,  as  there  was  a 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  45 

copy  of  the  Bible  in  his  convent,  diligently  pursuing 
the  inquiries  which  his  first  perusal  of  the  word  of 
God  at  Erfurt  had  suggested. 

In  addition  to  these  occupations  of  his  time,  he  de- 
voted much  of  it  to  religious  duties,  and  practised  the 
ordinary  austerities  to  an  extraordinary  degree.  He 
contented  himself  with  the  poorest  food,  and  would 
sometimes  go  three  or  four  days  together  without 
eating  or  drinking.  His  great  object  was,  by  these 
outward  works,  completely  to  subdue  and  eradicate  all 
inward  evil,  and  to  procure  a  settled  peace  of  con- 
science. He  himself  said,  at  a  subsequent  period, 
"  If  ever  a  monk  entered  into  heaven  by  his  monkish 
merits,  certainly  I  should  have  obtained  an  entrance 
there.  All  the  monks  who  knew  me  will  confirm  this ; 
and  if  it  had  lasted  much  longer,  I  should  have  become 
literally  a  martyr,  through  watchings,  prayer,  reading, 
and  other  labours." 

But  with  all  his  studies,  labours,  and  austerities,  he 
was  wretched.  His  conscience  became  more  and 
more  enlightened  by  the  word  of  God.  He  saw  no 
righteousness  in  himself,  neither  without  nor  within. 
He  regarded  the  least  sin  as  a  crime  ;  and  no  sooner 
had  he  detected  it,  than  he  laboured  to  expiate  it  by 
the  strictest  self-denial.  He  thus  gradually  discovered 
that  all  merely  human  efforts  were  unavailing.  "  I 
tormented  myself  to  death,"  he  said  subsequently,  "  to 
procure  peace  for  my  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God ; 
but,  encompassed  about  with  thick  darkness,  no  peace 
could  I  find."  Sometimes  his  meditations  on  the  divine 
justice  and  wrath  awakened  such  terrors  in  him,  that 
his  bodily  powers  failed  him,  and  he  sometimes  lay 
motionless,  as  if  dead.     He  was  indeed  found  one  day 


46  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

on  the  floor  of  his  cell,  without  any  signs  of  life. 
These  sufferings  led  him  to  study  the  Scriptures  yet 
more  earnestly,  if  by  any  means  his  fears  and  pains 
might  be  removed. 

The  vicar-general  of  the  Augustines  for  all  Ger- 
many was  John  Staupitz,  a  man  not  only  of  learning, 
but  of  piety.  He  had  passed  through  struggles  similar 
to  those  which  now  harassed  Luther,  and  in  the 
Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  he  had  been  enabled 
to  find  the  true  way  of  peace.  He  was,  however,  a 
man  of  much  gentleness  and  indecision  ;  and  one  who, 
though  he  wished  that  things  had  been  in  a  better 
state,  was  not  willing  to  take  any  steps  toward  their 
amendment.  Visiting  the  convent,  he  was  told  of  the 
young  monk,  whom  he  called  before  him,  and  obtained 
from  him  an  account  of  his  state.  In  the  course  of 
the  conversation,  Luther  said,  "  It  is  in  vain  that  I 
make  promises  to  God  :  sin  is  always  too  strong  for 
me."  He  had  obtained  light ;  but  he  had  as  yet  nei- 
ther peace  nor  power.  Staupitz  told  him  the  only 
way.  "  Look,"  said  he,  "  to  the  wounds  of  Jesus 
Christ,  to  the  blood  which  he  has  shed  for  you  :  it  is 
there  you  will  see  the  mercy  of  God.  Instead  of  thus 
torturing  yourself  for  your  sins,  cast  yourself  into  the 
arms  of  your  Redeemer.  Trust  in  the  righteousness 
of  his  life,  and  the  expiation  of  his  death."  But  Lu- 
ther objected  to  this,  that  he  was  not  as  yet  turned  to 
God, — converted.  "  I  must  be  changed,"  said  he, 
"  before  God  can  receive  me."  His  guide  knew  the 
way  better,  and  told  him  that  there  could  be  no  real 
conversion  while  man  feared  God  as  a  severe  judge. 
"  In  order  to  be  filled  with  the  love  of  that  which  is 
good,"  said  he,  "  you  must  be  filled  with  the  love  of 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  47 

God.  If  you  wish  to  be  really  converted,  seek  it  not 
in  these  mortifications  and  penances.  You  must  love 
Him  who  has  first  loved  you."  Speaking  afterward 
to  Staupitz,  on  this  very  conversation,  he  said,  (in 
May,  1518,)  "  Your  word  was  fastened  in  my  soul  as 
a  sharp  and  powerful  arrow."*  New  light  had  broken 
in  upon  his  mind.  He  studied  the  Scriptures,  and 
found  that  Staupitz  had  spoken  the  truth.  He  had  a 
measure  of  peace,  but  his  faith  was  extremely  weak, 
nor  had  he  fully  renounced  the  habit  of  looking  to  him- 
self. "  O  my  sin,  my  sin !"  he  exclaimed  on  one  occa- 
sion, before  Staupitz.  The  reply  was,  "  Would  you 
be  only  the  semblance  of  a  sinner,  and  have  only  the 
semblance  of  a  Saviour  ?"  He  added,  "  Know  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  Saviour  of  real  and  great  sinners, 
even  of  those  who  are  utterly  deserving  of  condemna- 
tion." 

Staupitz  likewise  gave  him  many  valuable  directions 
as  to  his  studies.  He  advised  him  to  derive  his  di- 
vinity from  the  word  of  God,  rather  than  from  the  sys- 
tems of  the  schools  ;  and,  to  aid  him  in  so  doing,  made 
him  what  was  to  him,  and  in  those  days,  a  most  valuable 
present ; — he  gave  him  a  copy  of  the  Bible.  Luther 
now  had  one  of  his  own  ;  and  from  that  time  he  studied 
the  Scriptures  with  increasing  zeal,  especially  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul. 

He  was  now  "  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God," 
and  foretastes  of  its  peace  and  joy  had  been  vouch- 
safed, to  preserve  him  from  despair  ;  but  his  con- 
science had  not  yet  fully  found  rest.  His  body  again 
began  to  yield  to  the  exercises  of  his  mind.  He  was 
attacked  with  a  malady  that  brought  him  to  the  brink 

*  Hsesit  hoc  verbum  tuum  in  me,  sicut  sagitta  potentis  acuta. 


48  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

of  the  grave  ;  and  in  the  prospect  of  death,  his  former 
anguish  and  fears  returned.  His  own  sinfulness,  and 
God's  holiness,  disturbed  his  mind.  This  time  it  was 
by  a  very  humble  instrument  that  God  gave  him  com- 
fort. On  one  occasion,  while  in  his  cell,  he  was  visit- 
ed by  an  aged  monk,  to  whom  he  opened  his  heart. 
The  old  monk  directed  him  to  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
and  repeated  the  article,  "  The  forgiveness  of  sins." 
"  You  must  not  only  believe  that  David's  or  Peter's 
sins  are  forgiven.  The  commandment  of  God  is,  that 
we  believe  that  our  own  sins  are  forgiven."  He  added, 
"  This  is  what  St.  Bernard  says  in  his  discourse  on  the 
Annunciation.  The  testimony  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
applies  to  your  heart  is  this,  '  Thy  sins  are  forgiven 
thee.'" 

It  is  plain  that  Luther  was  directed  by  the  old  monk 
to  such  a  faith  as  should  be  personal  and  appropriating, 
and  connected  with  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  Whether  they  clearly  per- 
ceived the  distinction  between  the  faith  which  must 
precede  the  testimony,  and  the  testimony  itself,  is  not 
directly  apparent.  Faith  exercised  in  order  to  pardon, 
does  not,  in  its  own  nature,  imply  the  testimony  of  par- 
don. The  one  is  prior ;  the  other  is  subsequent. 
Still,  the  two  are  so  closely  and  immediately  connect- 
ed, that  in  times  of  such  obscurity  as  those  in  which 
Luther  and  the  old  monk  were  conversing,  the  wonder 
is  that  they  saw  things  so  clearly  as  they  did.  But  it 
was  the  work  of  God,  bringing  his  servant  to  the  state 
of  a  son.  Luther  saw  that  he  was  not  only  to  acknow- 
ledge, generally,  that  Christ  was  the  sole  and  suffi- 
cient Saviour,  but  that  he  had  to  trust  in  him  for  the 
forgiveness  of  his  own  sins,  and  to  look  for  the  testi- 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  49 

mony  of  the  Holy  Ghost  that  he  was  pardoned,  in 
connection  with  his  faith.  It  is  possible  that  some 
degree  of  confusion  might  rest  on  his  views,  but  his 
experience  was  clear  and  sound. 

The  comfort  he  had  received  to  his  spirit  restored 
health  to  his  body.  He  had  obtained  new  life  in  more 
than  one  sense.  He  quickly  arose  from  his  sickbed  ; 
every  day  he  prayed  for  help  from  above,  and  every 
day  renewed  strength  was  imparted  to  his  soul. 

It  would  not  be  right  to  pass  from  this  deeply-inte- 
resting period  of  Luther's  life,  without  reflecting  on  the 
remarkable  fact  which  is  presented  to  us.  In  the 
depth  of -the  darkness  of  that  miserable  age,  a  poor 
monk  had  found  peace  with  God  by  faith  in  Christ ; 
and  thus  he  became  the  means  of  instructing  the  man, 
who,  because  instructed  in  that  one  point,  was  enabled, 
as  an  instrument  of  God's  mercy,  to  pour  forth  light 
and  life  on  every  hand.  The  suggesting  principle  of 
the  Lutheran  Reformation  has  often  been  misappre- 
hended. One  object  which  the  single-minded  monk 
contemplated  was  the  restoration  of  the  word  of  God 
to  its  undivided  supremacy,  as  the  rule  of  faith  and 
practice ;  but  even  this  was  but  in  the  order  of  means 
to  that  which  was  really  and  properly  his  end,  and 
without  which,  the  Reformation  itself  would  not  have 
been  attempted,  and  cannot  be  understood.  Luther's 
great  object  was  to  point  to  Christ  as  the  only  Saviour 
and  Intercessor,  and  to  call  on  men  to  receive  salva- 
tion as  most  freely  given,  for  the  alone  worthiness  of 
the  Lord  Jesus.  Pardon,  and  peace  of  conscience, 
and  power  to  love  and  serve  God,  obtained  by  the 
faith  which  acknowledged  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ 
to  be  all  in  all,  were  Luther's  grand  themes :  at  once 
3 


50  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

the  objects  for  which  he  contended,  and  the  armoury 
which  supplied  him  with  the  weapons  with  which  he 
won  the  victory.  In  the  triumphs  of  the  Reformation, 
the  rights  of  conscience,  civil  freedom,  intellectual 
disenthralment  and  life,  all  participated  ;  but  the  real 
victory  consisted  in  the  establishment  of  that  spiritual 
religion,  whose  ineffaceable  sign  is,  justification  by 
faith  alone.  Luther  became  a  reformer,  not  because 
he  had  found  the  Bible  at  Erfurt,  and  studied  it  at 
Wittenberg,  though  these  were  steps  in  the  wonderful 
process  ;  but  he  became  a  reformer  because  he  had 
found  peace  of  conscience,  and  power  over  sin,  by 
faith  in  the  merits  of  Christ ;  because  he  had  found, 
to  quote  the  language  of  Bernard,  "the  testimony 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  applied  to  his  heart, '  Thy  sins 
are  forgiven  thee.'" 

Having  now  been  in  the  cloister  nearly  two  years, 
Luther  resolved  to  proceed  with  his  purpose  of  devoting 
himself  exclusively  to  a  religious  life  :  he  was  there- 
fore ordained  priest  on  the  2d  of  May,  1507,  by  Jerome, 
bishop  of  Brandenburg.  Hitherto  his  father  had  not 
forgiven  the  disappointment  he  had  experienced  in  his 
son's  withdrawal  from  secular  pursuits,  and  the  conse- 
quent extinction  of  all  prospects  of  secular  aggrandize- 
ment. He  accepted,  however,  his  son's  invitation  to 
be  present  at  the  ceremony  of  his  ordination,  and  the 
reconciliation  was  complete. 

After  his  ordination,  following  the  advice  of  Staupitz, 
he  frequently  made  short  excursions  to  the  parishes 
and  convents  of  the  neighbourhood,  partly  to  occupy 
his  mind,  and  partly  for  the  sake  of  his  health  ;  seek- 
ing, at  the  same  time,  to  accustom  himself  to  preaching. 
The  time,  however,  was  approaching  when  a  wider 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  51 

sphere  of  action  was  to  open  around  him.  His  evi- 
dently great  abilities,  his  eloquence,  his  various  learn- 
ing, together  with  the  austere  purity  of  his  morals, 
which  had  procured  for  him  the  universal  respect  of 
the  people  of  Wittenberg,  recommended  him  to  the 
notice  of  Frederic,  the  elector  of  Saxony  ;  and  when, 
in  the  year  1508,  that  enlightened  prince  established 
the  University  of  Wittenberg,  by  the  advice  of  Staupitz, 
he  invited  Luther  to  be  one  of  the  professors. 

To  the  duties  of  this  new  situation  he  applied  him- 
self with  exemplary  diligence.  He  devoted  much  time 
to  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages,  and 
daily  lectured  upon  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He  began 
with  the  book  of  Psalms,  and  then  proceeded  to  St. 
Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  In  lecturing  upon  this 
latter  portion  of  sacred  writ,  he  spoke  under  the  influ- 
ence of  strong  personal  emotion.  He  had  himself  felt 
the  power  of  the  truths  which  he  had  to  expound,  and 
he  knew  their  value  and  sweetness.  He  appeared 
before  the  attendants  on  his  lectures,  not  as  a  rhetori- 
cian who  coloured  his  words*  to  make  them  acceptable, 
but  as  a  scribe  well  instructed  unto  the  kingdom  of 

*  In  Luther's  days,  the  "  liberal  arts"  were  supposed  to  be 
seven.  They  were  divided  into  two  classes,  three  in  one,  four 
in  the  other.  These  classes  were  respectively  called  the  Trivium, 
and  the  Quadrivium.  The  division  is  marked  out  in  the  follow- 
ing lines : — 

Gram,  loquitur ;  Dia.  verba  docet ;  Rhe.  verba  colorat : 

Mus.  canit ;  Ar.  numerat ;  Geo.  ponderat ;  As.  colit  astra. 

Grammar  speaks ;  Logic  teaches  to  use  words  ;  and  Rhetoric 
to  colour  them. 

Music  sings ;  Arithmetic  reckons ;  Geometry  weighs ;  Astro, 
nomy  studies  the  stare. 


52  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

God,  speaking  from  the  fulness  of  his  heart.  So  ably 
was  he  considered  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  ap- 
pointment, that  his  fame  went  abroad  throughout  Ger- 
many, and  attracted  pupils  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 
The  very  professors  attended  Luther's  lectures.  One 
of  the  most  eminent  among  them  (Mellerstadt)  said  of 
him,  "  This  monk  will  put  all  the  doctors  to  the  rout ; 
he  will  introduce  a  new  style  of  doctrine,  and  will 
reform  the  whole  church.  He  builds  upon  the  word 
of  Christ ;  and  no  one  in  this  world  can  either  resist 
or  overthrow  that  word,  though  it  should  be  attacked 
by  the  weapons  of  philosophers,  sophists,  Scotists, 
Albertists,  and  Thomists." 

Staupitz  also  pressed  him  to  preach.  Luther  already 
felt  the  greatness  of  the  work  of  the  pulpit,  and  shrunk 
from  it,  ably  as  he  discharged  the  duties  of  the  pro- 
fessor's chair.  "  It  is  no  light  thing,"  said  he,  "  to 
speak  to  men  in  God's  stead."  He  yielded,  however, 
and  crowds  soon  nocked  to  hear  him.  He  was  in 
earnest ;  he  preached  precisely  those  truths  which 
always  find  their  way  to  the  heart ;  and,  encumbered 
as  they  yet  were  by  "  the  wood,  and  the  hay,  and  the 
stubble,"  yet  spoken,  warmly  and  colloquially,  by  one 
whose  object  was,  not  to  attract  attention  to  himself, 
but  to  awaken  a  right  feeling  in  his  hearers,  they 
produced,  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  the  effect 
which  he  contemplated.  Even  Bossuet  acknowledges 
that  "  he  had  a  lively  and  impetuous  eloquence,  which 
delighted  and  captivated  his  auditory."  Thus,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-seven,  was  the  youthful  student,  profes 
sor,  and  preacher  occupied,  obtaining  for  himself  gene- 
ral approbation  and  esteem,  and  especially  the  entire 
confidence  of  his  own  order,  among  whom  he  dwelt ; 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  53 

for  he  was  still  an  Augustine  monk.  The  Jesuit 
Maimbourg  himself  acknowledges  that  "  he  acquitted 
himself  in  his  various  engagements  so  as  to  gain  great 
applause,  and  to  render  himself  considerable  among 
his  brethren."  Providence  was  preparing  him  for  a 
great  work.  The  seeds  of  divine  knowledge  were 
sown  in  his  heart,  and  the  effect  was  a  powerful, 
honest,  uncompromising  attachment  to  the  truth ;  so 
that  he  stood  ready  to  admit  whatever  truth  presented, 
and  to  cast  away  whatever  truth  condemned.  And 
thus  did  he  become,  ultimately,  the  honoured  instru- 
ment of  directing  the  attention  of  the  nations  to  the 
true  bread  of  immortal  life,  the  food  without  which 
they  die. 


54  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 


CHAPTER  II. 

In  the  year  1510  Luther  visited  Rome,  being  de- 
puted by  his  brethren  of  the  Augustinian  order  to  attend 
the  pope  on  their  behalf,  and  arrange  before  him  cer- 
tain differences  which  had  arisen  between  them  and 
the  vicar-general  of  the  pontificate.  Astounded  at 
the  pomp  and  prodigality  which  reigned  in  the  Papal 
court,  and  greatly  revolted  by  the  indecorum  and  licen- 
tiousness which  prevailed  among  the  clergy,  as  well 
as  by  their  careless  and  indecent  manner  of  performing 
the  public  services  of  the  church,  his  first  definite  con- 
ception of  ecclesiastical  abuses  may  be  dated  from 
this  epoch.  Upon  all  occasions  throughout  his  after- 
life, he  affirmed  the  scenes  he  witnessed  in  this  jour- 
ney had  filled  him  with  horror  and  amazement.  "  At 
Rome,"  he  says, "  I  heard  them  say  mass  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  I  detest  them :  for  at  the  communion-table  I 
heard  courtesans  laugh  and  boast  of  their  wickedness  ; 
and  others,  concerning  the  bread  and  wine  of  the  altar, 
saying,  '  Bread  thou  art,  and  bread  thou  shalt  remain ; 
wine  thou  art,  and  wine  thou  shalt  remain.'"  He 
adds,  that  the  effect  on  his  own  feelings  of  what  he 
then  saw  of  the  depraved  condition  of  the  church  was 
such  as  he  would  not  have  foregone  for  a  thousand 
florins.  But  for  the  scandalous  exhibitions  which 
then  met  his  eye,  it  is  possible  that  the  preaching 
of  indulgences  by  Tetzel,  some  few  years  after- 
ward, in  Saxony,  might  not  have  forced  upon  him 
so  keen  a  sense  of  the  effrontery  and  flagrant  impiety 
of  the  pope,  in  sanctioning  such  practices  upon  the 


LIFE  OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  55 

credulity  of  the  populace, — practices  which  tended  yet 
more  effectually  to  vitiate  their  morals  than  to  drain 
their  purses. 

While  at  Rome,  he  several  times  said  mass  himself, 
and  went  through  the  service  with  the  seriousness 
with  which  the  truly  devout  mind  engages  in  all  the 
services  of  religion,  much  more  in  those  which  it 
believes  to  be  the  most  solemn.  On  these  occasions, 
however,  the  Italian  priests  laughed  at  the  simplicity 
of  the  German  monk,  who  appeared  to  be  a  believer 
in  earnest ;  and  they  even  called  upon  him  to  hasten 
his  performance,  and  in  language  proving  the  heartless 
infidelity  which  reigned  among  them.  "  Quick,  quick," 
said  one  of  the  priests  ;  "  send  our  lady  her  son  back 
speedily !" 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  occurrences,  however, 
of  this  visit  to  Rome,  was  that  which  produced  a  deep- 
ened impression  of  the  indissoluble  connection  between 
peace  of  mind  and  living  faith  in  Christ. 

One  day,  wishing  to  obtain  an  indulgence  promised 
by  the  pope  to  any  one  who  should  ascend  Pilate's 
staircase  on  his  knees,  the  poor  Saxon  monk  was 
slowly  climbing  the  steps,  which  he  was  told  had  been 
miraculously  transported  from  Jerusalem  to  Rome. 
While  he  was  going  through  this  work,  to  which  his 
yet  only  partially-liberated  mind  ascribed  some  degree 
of  merit,  the  words,  "The  just  shall  live  by  faith," 
were  applied  with  great  light  and  power  to  his  inmost 
soul.  He  was  struck  with  shame  at  his  own  supersti- 
tion and  debasement,  started  up,  and  fled  from  the  scene 
of  his  folly,  leaving  the  work  unfinished.  But  the 
impression  remained.  He  saw  more  clearly  than  ever, 
that  the  believed  gospel  was  the  power  of  God  to  actual 


56  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

salvation, — to  pardon,  and  peace,  and  holiness ;  and  thus 
did  he  return  from  Rome  possessing  that  weapon  by 
which  alone  the  might  of  Rome  could  be  subdued,  and 
the  pride  of  Rome  brought  down. 

In  the  month  of  October,  1512,  by  desire,  and  at  the 
charge,  of  the  elector  Frederic,  Luther  was  invested 
with  the  degree  of  doctor  of  divinity.  This  honour 
he  at  first  objected  to  receive,  on  the  ground  of  his 
youth ;  but  his  scruples  were  overruled  by  some  of 
his  friends  in  the  university,  who  persuaded  him,  pro- 
bably with  very  little  apprehension  of  the  emphatic 
truth  of  their  prediction,  that  "  he  must  submit  to  be 
thus  dignified,  because  the  Almighty  had  signal  services 
to  be  performed  by  his  instrumentality  in  the  church.'''' 
Stimulated  to  increased  diligence  and  exertion  by 
this  new  elevation,  he  persevered  in  his  devotion  to 
the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  and  gained  additional 
esteem  among  his  learned  contemporaries,  by  his  Com- 
mentaries on  the  Psalms,  and  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans.  Especially  by  these  works  he  commended 
himself  to  the  more  favourable  regard  of  the  Saxon 
prince-elector ;  a  man  whose  fine  sagacity  appreci- 
ated the  extraordinary  energy  of  Luther's  character, 
and  perhaps,  to  some  extent,  anticipated  the  result  of 
his  labours  and  indomitable  probity  of  mind. 

From  his  letters,  written  in  the  year  1516,  we  learn 
that  he  then  acted  as  vicar  of  the  Augustine  fraternity, 
in  Thuringia  and  Misnia  ;  a  promotion  which  he  most 
likely  owed  to  the  good  offices  of  his  friend  Staupitz, 
the  principal  of  the  convent  at  Wittenberg.  In  the 
discharge  of  his  vicarial  functions,  he  became  known 
to  George  of  Saxony,  successor  to  the  elector  Fre- 
deric, before  whom  he  preached  at  Dresden.     In  the 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  57 

course  of  the  same  year  he  made  his  first  appearance 
as  a  controversial  writer,  having  engaged  in  a  dissen- 
sion with  Jodocus,  his  former  tutor  at  Erfurt,  relative 
to  the  Aristotelian  system  of  philosophy.  So  bitterly 
did  his  opponent  resent  the  inexpiable  sin  of  disputing 
the  authority  of  Aristotle,  that  when  Luther  next  visited 
Erfurt,  he  refused  to  hold  any  intercourse  with  a 
person  who  had  so  grievously  offended.  In  this  case 
Luther's  conduct  was  marked  by  the  same  fearless 
spirit,  and  unswerving  honesty,  which  characterized 
his  whole  career.  The  estrangement  of  his  friend 
could  not  deter  him  from  speaking  out  what  he  believed 
to  be  the  truth.  He  wrote  a  second  letter  to  the  Erfurt 
professor,  which  is  remarkable,  not  merely  for  its  feli- 
citous expression,  its  tone  of  forcible  expostulation, 
and  veiled  contempt  for  the  unreasonable  acerbity  and 
prejudice  of  his  antagonist,  but  still  more  so,  as  dis- 
closing the  first  preconception  of  the  great  work  of 
renovation  which  he  was  destined  to  accomplish.  In 
this  letter  he  observes,  with  singular  emphasis,  that 
although  the  church  stood  in  need  of  being  extensively 
reformed,  that  reformation  could  never  be  effected  until 
the  whole  process  and  scheme  of  education,  then  pre- 
valent in  Christendom,  should  be  amended. 

Within  twelve  months  from  the  date  of  this  corres- 
pondence, Luther  set  up  his  famous  propositions.  Leo 
X.,  impatient  for  the  completion  of  the  great  metropoli- 
tan edifice  at  Rome,  was  not  content  with  merely 
authorizing  the  public  sale  of  indulgences,  but,  with  a 
view  to  expedite  the  enrichment  of  his  coffers,  he  hit 
upon  an  expedient  which  would  have  far  better  suited 
the  genius  of  a  Hebrew  stock-jobber,  than  it  consisted 
with  the  responsibilities  and  station  of  a  grave  and 
3* 


58  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

sovereign  ecclesiastic.  The  details  of  the  whole 
transaction  were,  to  the  last  degree,  infamous.  Let- 
ting out  the  different  countries  of  Europe  to  the  highest 
bidder,  he  received  a  price  beforehand  for  the  exclu- 
sive right  to  dispose  of  these  dispensations  within 
certain  districts.  The  arrangement  was  precisely 
similar  to  that  which  in  this  country  is  daily  entered 
into  between  commissioners  of  the  high-road  and  the 
lessees  of  turnpikes,  the  former  party  assigning  to  the 
renter  the  tolls  accruing  within  a  specified  period,  in 
consideration  of  a  stipulated  sum  of  money  being  paid 
in  advance.  The  inevitable  tendency  of  this  vicious 
and  disgraceful  proceeding,  this  farming-out  of  the 
spiritual  tollage  of  the  Christian  world,  was  to  exaspe- 
rate the  avarice,  and  degrade  the  character,  of  those 
clerical  dignitaries  who  were  rich  enough  to  purchase 
the  privilege  of  selling  the  pontifical  pardons.  Apart 
from  all  preliminary  considerations  of  the  iniquitous 
delusion  upon  which  it  based,  the  entire  bargain, 
regarded  as  a  simple  matter  of  business,  was,  in  fact, 
a  mere  and  most  execrable  piece  of  gambling.  Albert, 
archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  who  was  also  hereditary 
elector  of  Mentz,  an  astute  and  not  unlearned  prelate, 
but  whose  covetousness  appears  to  have,  in  this  in- 
stance, overreached  his  foresight,  had  contracted  for 
the  sale  of  dispensations  throughout  Germany,  in  the 
hope,  doubtless,  of  deriving  from  it  an  ample  compen- 
sation for  his  advance  to  the  pope.  With  the  appro- 
bation of  Leo,  he  nominated  as  commissaries  for  the 
disposal  of  the  indulgences,  two  Dominican  friars, 
Accumboldo,  and  John  Tetzel, — men  whose  names 
are  saved  from  oblivion  only  by  the  importance  of  the 
results  which  their  acts  mainly  assisted  to  develop. 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 


59 


Both  of  these  agents  were  persons  of  gross  ignorance, 
and  notorious  depravity  of  conduct.  In  that  age  of 
abandoned  churchmen,  it  would  probably  have  been 
difficult  to  find  a  more  accomplished  specimen  of  the 
general  corruption,  insolence,  and  moral  worthlessness 
of  the  Romish  priesthood,  than  was  Tetzel.  Con- 
victed, some  years  before,  of  adultery,  under  circum- 
stances of  peculiar  aggravation,  he  had  been  condemned 
to  be  thrown  into  the  river  Inn  ;  and  was  reprieved  only 
at  the  intercession  of  the  elector  Frederic.  Profligate 
in  their  manners,  as  they  were  unprincipled  in  heart 
and  life,  the  very  terms  in  which  these  unworthy  com- 
missaries announced  their  mission  were  revolting  and 
indecent.  Among  other  things,  they  published  that 
their  commission  was  so  large  as  to  afford  impunity 
even  to  one  who  should  violate  (if  that  were  possible) 
the  "  mother  of  God  "  herself !  In  short,  it  is  hard  to 
say  which  was  the  more  shocking,  the  blasphemous  ab- 
surdity of  their  pretensions,  or  the  brutal  obscenity  of 
imagination  indicated  by  the  language  in  which  those 
pretensions  were  couched. 

That  the  appearance  of  such  men,  claiming  to  be 
clothed  with  such  plenary  authority  from  their  ecclesi- 
astical superior,  and  making  such  indecorous  pro- 
clamation, should  have  stirred  the  anger  of  the  consci- 
entious and  devout  Luther,  occasions  no  surprise. 
The  wonder  is  rather  that,  spite  of  the  numerous  abuses 
which  had  overgrown  the  Roman  doctrine  and  cere- 
monial, the  whole  body  of  the  German  clergy  should 
not  have  risen  as  one  man  to  protest  against  this 
odious  and  glaring  impiety.  Luther,  indeed,  would 
seem  to  have  at  first  persuaded  himself  that  Tet- 
zel  and  his   colleague  had  exceeded  their  commis- 


CO 


LIFE  OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 


sion;  and  that  neither  the  supreme  pontiff,  nor  the 
territorial  diocesan,  were  cognizant  of  their  publica- 
tions. Unaware  of  the  negotiation  which  had  taken 
place  between  the  prince-archbishop  and  the  Roman 
see,  he  looked  upon  the  actual  dispensers  of  the  far- 
famed  indulgences  as  bringing,  by  their  monstrous 
declarations,  a  gratuitous  reproach  upon  religion,  and 
offending  hardly  less  against  the  canons  of  the  church 
than  against  the  law  of  God.  It  is  to  be  remembered 
that  at  the  time  in  question,  and  for  long  after,  Luther 
had  no  thought  of  separation  from  communion  with 
the  Roman  Church.  He  still  held  in  awe  the  existing 
ecclesiastical  constitution,  and  had  never  suffered  him- 
self to  doubt  of  the  legitimate  sovereignty  of  the  suc- 
cessors of  St.  Peter.  That  he  also  clung  at  this 
period  to  some  general  notion  of  the  infallibility  of  the 
church  is  tolerably  certain ;  though  it  is  worthy  of 
observation,  that  he  appears  to  have  considered  that 
infallibility  to  have  resided,  not  (as  has  since  been 
contended)  in  the  individual  pope  for  the  time  being, 
but  in  the  decretals  and  declared  opinions  of  the  an- 
cient councils.  This,  no  doubt,  was  the  original  shape 
of  the  doctrine  ; — a  doctrine  indeed  which,  in  any 
shape,  is  open  to  most  serious  objection ;  but  which, 
under  this  mitigated  and  more  reasonable  aspect,  does 
not  involve  the  frightful  consequences  that  would  flow 
from  an  admission  of  its  other  and  more  dangerous 
form. 

Tetzel  had  been  forbidden  by  the  princes  of  Saxony, 
who  were  indignant  at  his  shameful  traffic,  to  enter 
their  dominions  ;  but  he  approached  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible, and  set  up  what  was,  in  fact,  his  booth  and  stall, 
at  Juterboch,  distant  only  four  miles  from  Wittenberg. 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  61 

The  people  flocked  there  in  crowds  ;  for  the  indulgence 
promised  relief  from  indefinite  suffering,  and  was 
scarcely  distinguishable  from  (we  fear  was  not  intend- 
ed to  be  distinguished  from)  the  most  absolute  pardon. 
And  thus  was  the  matter  brought  to  a  crisis.  Luther's 
views  of  ecclesiastical  power  placed  it,  not  in  su- 
premacy, but  in  subordination.  With  him,  salvation 
by  the  grace  of  God,  through  the  merit  of  Christ,  to  be 
apprehended  and  appropriated  by  faith,  was  the  princi- 
ple to  which  the  whole  system  of  confession,  penance, 
and  absolution  was  but  the  appendage.  Whatever 
became  of  the  last,  the  first  was  to  be  maintained. 

This  was  the  state  of  his  mind  when  the  matter  was 
brought  before  him  in  a  practical  form,  calling  for  dis- 
tinct and  immediate  decision.  One  day  he  was  in  the 
confessional  at  Wittenberg.  Several  residents  of  the 
town  presented  themselves,  who  confessed  they  had 
been  guilty  of  great  irregularities  ;  but  to  the  exhorta- 
tions of  the  confessor  they  replied  by  pleading  the 
indulgences  they  had  purchased.  He  immediately 
began  to  dissuade  them  from  the  confidence  he  at  once 
saw  they  were  reposing  in  these  ecclesiastical  licenses  ; 
and  they,  some  angry  that  what  they  had  purchased 
should  be  of  such  little  value,  others  alarmed  lest  what 
they  had  rested  upon  should  fail  them,  hastened  back 
to  Tetzel,  and  told  him  that  one  of  the  Augustine 
monks  had  been  warning  them  against  his  letters. 
Tetzel  was  enraged,  and,  even  in  the  pulpit,  used  the 
most  fearful  expressions  on  the  subject ;  declaring 
that  he  was  ordered  by  the  pope  to  burn  the  heretic* 
who  should  dare  to  oppose  these  holy  indulgences. 

Thus  commenced  the  Reformation.  In  these 
apparently  trivial   circumstances   began   one   of  the 


I 


62  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

mightiest  and  most  momentous  changes  that  the  world 
had  ever  witnessed.  These  were  the  beginning,  says 
Melancthon,  of  this  controversy,  in  which  Luther 
dreamed  not  of  the  changes  that  would  ensue.* 

At  the  same  time,  it  is  evident  that  Luther  could 
not  conceal  from  himself,  the  moment  he  considered 
the  subject  practically,  the  unscriptural  nature  and 
abomination  of  the  practice  of  granting  indulgences. 
He  therefore  resolved  to  raise  his  voice  in  his  place 
in  the  university  against  the  revival  of  this  imposition. 
He  likewise  wrote  two  letters,  one  to  the  bishop  of  the 
diocess,  the  other  to  the  archiepiscopal  prince  of  Mentz, 
within  whose  jurisdiction  Tetzel  was  carrying  on  his 
nefarious  traffic  ;  pointing  out  the  demoralizing  ten- 
dency of  such  a  commerce,  and  supplicating  their  inter- 
ference to  put  a  stop  to  it.  Receiving  no  answer  to 
either  of  these  communications,  and  strong  in  his  con- 
viction that  the  right  and  truth  were  with  him,  he 
resolved  to  have  recourse  to  means  more  decisive  than 
mere  personal  remonstrances  and  cautions  to  those 
with  whom  he  was  immediately  connected. 

Accordingly,  he  ascended  the  pulpit,  and  though 
affectionately,  yet  with  great  fidelity,  warned  the  peo- 
ple against  trusting  to  these  indulgences,  and  neglect- 
ing the  weightier  matters  of  the  divine  law.  His 
hearers  were  much  affected  by  his  discourse,  which 
was  printed,  read  with  eagerness,  and  produced  a  deep 
impression.  Tetzel,  however,  continued  both  his  traffic 
and  abuse  ;  and  this  led  to  what  was,  decidedly,  the 
first  open  act  of  the  Reformation.  The  feast  of  All- 
Saints  was  a  very  important  day  at  Wittenberg,  as  the 

*  Hsec  initia  fuerunt  hujus  controversial,  in  qua  Lutherus  nihil 
suspicans  aut  somnians  d©  futura  mutatione  rituum,  etc. 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  63 

church  which  the  elector  had  built  was  well  stored 
with  relics  ;  and  whoever  on  that  day  visited  it  and 
confessed  himself,  obtained  a  plenary  indulgence.  To 
this  church  Luther  boldly  repaired  on  this  celebrated 
day,  October  31st,  1517,  and  affixed  to  the  door  ninety- 
five  theses,  or  propositions,  against  indulgences  ;  thus, 
in  the  usual  way,  challenging  discussion  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

In  these  "  conclusions"  the  light  which  had  shone 
on  Luther's  own  mind  was  plainly  apparent ;  but  as 
yet,  in  himself,  it  was  mingled  with  much  obscurity,  and 
even  error.  Doctrines,  however,  were  now  propounded 
to  the  people  which  threatened  the  whole  Papal  sys- 
tem, though  he  who  propounded  them  saw  not  as  yet 
whither  they  tended. 

Thus  he  says, — 

VI.  "  The  pope  cannot  remit  any  condemnation ; 
but  can  only  declare  and  confirm  the  remission  that 
God  himself  has  given,  except  only  in  cases  that  be- 
long to  him.  If  he  does  otherwise,  the  condemnation 
continues  the  same." 

VIII.  "  The  laws  of  ecclesiastical  penance  can  only 
be  imposed  on  the  living,  and  in  no  wise  respect  the 
dead." 

XXV.  "The  same  power  that  the  pope  has  over 
purgatory  in  the  church  at  large,  is  possessed  by  every 
bishop  and  every  curate  in  his  own  particular  diocess 
and  parish." 

XXXVII.  "  Every  true  Christian,  dead  or  living,  is 
a  partaker  of  all  the  riches  of  Christ,  or  of  the  church, 
by  the  gift  of  God,  and  without  any  letter  of  indul- 
gence." 

XXXVIII.  "  Yet  we  must  not  despise  the  pope's 


64  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

distributive  and  pardoning  power  ;  for  his  pardon  is  a 
declaration  of  God's  pardon." 

XCIV.  "  We  must  exhort  Christians  to  endeavour 
to  follow  Christ,  their  Head,  under  the  cross,  through 
death  and  hell." 

XCV.  "  For  it  is  better  through  much  tribulation  to 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  than  to  gain  a  carnal 
serenity  by  the  consolations  of  a  false  peace." 

Some  of  these  "  conclusions "  show  what  were  the 
practices  of  the  venders  of  Papal  indulgences,  and  the 
pitch  of  corruption  to  which  the  whole  systemhad  arisen. 

XXVII.  "  Those  persons  preach  human  inventions 
who  pretend  that,  at  the  very  moment  when  the  money 
sounds  in  the  strong  box,  the  soul  escapes  from  pur- 
gatory." 

XXXII.  "  Those  who  fancy  themselves  sure  of 
their  salvation  by  indulgences,  will  go  to  the  devil  with 
those  who  teach  them  this  doctrine." 

XLII.  "  We  must  teach  Christians  that  the  pope 
neither  expects  nor  wishes  us  to  compare  the  act  of 
preaching  indulgences  with  any  charitable  work  what- 
soever." 

XLIII.  "We  must  teach  Christians,  that  he  who 
gives  to  the  poor,  or  lends  to  the  needy,  does  better 
than  he  who  buys  an  indulgence." 

XLV.  "  We  must  teach  Christians,  that  he  who 
sees  his  neighbour  in  want,  and,  notwithstanding  that, 
buys  an  indulgence,  does  not  in  reality  acquire  the 
pope's  indulgence,  and  draws  down  on  himself  the 
anger  of  God." 

LIII.  "  They  are  the  enemies  of  the  pope  and  of 
Christ,  who,  to  favour  the  preaching  of  indulgences 
forbid  the  preaching  of  the  word  of  God." 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  65 

The  general  tendency  of  these  propositions  was 
evidently  not  merely  to  weaken  the  effect  of  the  in- 
dulgences, but  to  expose  their  fraudulent  character, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  weaken  the  very  foundations 
of  the  authority  whence  they  were  supposed  to  be 
derived.  In  the  protest  with  which  the  paper  was 
connected,  Luther  declared  that  he  put  forth  his  theses 
only  as  doubtful  propositions,  in  respect  to  which  he 
solicited  the  information  of  the  learned.  He  like- 
wise added  (what  was,  indeed,  an  established  cus- 
tom on  such  occasions)  a  solemn  declaration,  that 
he  did  not  wish  to  say  or  affirm  anything  that  was 
not  founded  on  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  fathers  of  the 
church,  and  the  rights  and  decretals  of  the  court  of 
Rome. 

These  propositions,  thus  accompanied,  after  they 
had  been  affixed  to  the  door  of  the  church,  he  forthwith 
printed,  and  put  them  in  free  circulation.  And  now  it 
was  that  the  wonderful  power  of  the  press  became 
evident.  Had  it  not  been  for  this,  a  few  copies  in 
manuscript  would  have  been  circulated,  and  after 
the  excitement  of  the  moment,  the  whole  matter  would 
have  subsided  into  its  fonner  quiescence.  But  copies 
were  multiplied,  and  created  for  themselves  an  in- 
creasing demand.  Their  power  increased  by  moving 
onward,  and  soon  was  their  influence  felt,  where  only 
the  press  could  have  made  it  felt,  through  the  entire 
mass  of  the  community. 

Luther  himself  had  no  conception  of  the  effects 
which  his  publication  produced.  He  saw  an  actually- 
existing  evil  in  the  manner  in  which  indulgences  were 
preached  and  received,  and  against  that  evil,  and  that 
alone,  he  resolutely  addressed  himself.     As  far  as  he 


66  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LtJTHER. 

knew  the  truth,  he  was  resolved  to  follow  it ;  and  it 
was  this  which  led  him  onward.  In  his  mind,  submis- 
sion to  truth  was  one  part  of  submission  to  the  will  of 
God.  It  was  an  essential  branch  of  religion.  With 
him  truth  was  not  only  not  to  be  opposed,  but  not  even 
to  be  concealed. 

Luther,  therefore,  did  not  suppose  that  he  was 
attacking  the  church,  or  calling  the  pope  to  account. 
He  appears  sincerely  to  have  believed  that,  by  these 
indulgences,  not  only  was  the  religion  of  simple-hearted 
people,  but  the  credit  of  the  pope,  endangered.  As  to 
the  low  falsehood  invented  by  some  enemies  of  Luther 
after  his  death,  and  which  even  Cardinal  Pallavicini 
calls  a  calumny,  that  Luther's  opposition  originated 
in  his  jealousy,  as  a  Franciscan,  of  the  Dominicans, 
whose  order  had  the  German  market  for  indulgences  ; 
it  will  be  sufficient  thus  to  mention  it,  and  to  say  that 
it  is  one  of  those  calumnies  which  no  opponent,  having 
any  regard  for  his  own  character,  or  seeking  to  obtain 
hearers  except  among  those  whom  superstition  has 
first  blinded  and  then  brutalized,  will  attempt  to  revive. 
Luther  sought  to  remedy  a  present  evil ;  but  he  went 
into  the  contest  with  a  perfectly  honest  mind,  resolved 
to  follow  the  truth  whithersoever  it  might  lead  him. 
Speaking  afterward  of  these  transactions,  he  called 
God  to  witness  that  he  had  engaged  in  them  as  by 
mere  accident,  and  not  by  any  preconceived  plan.* 

Still,  this  publication  of  his  theses  was  an  act  which, 
if  we  take  into  account  the  array  of  influence  and 
power  by  which  he  saw  that  the  system  of  indulgences 
was  supported,  has  seldom  been  paralleled  for  moral 

*  "  Casu  enim,  non  voluntate  nee  studio,  in  has  turbas  incidi ; 
Detim  ipsum  tester." 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  67 

intrepidity  and  decision.  The  far-seeing  monk  could 
not  but  perceive  the  possibility  of  a  collision  where  a 
collision  was  most  to  be  dreaded,  and  where  his  own 
feelings  would  most  desire  to  avoid  it.  But  his  was 
the  true  courage  which  fearlessly  attended  to  present 
duty,  leaving  the  future  in  the  hands  of  God. 

It  may  further  be  remarked  of  these  "  conclusions," 
that  the  whole  series  is  throughout  written  with  con- 
spicuous ability.  Of  all  the  propositions,  characterized 
as  they  uniformly  are  by  a  peculiar  felicity  and  strength 
of  diction,  the  most  pungent,  as  well  as  that  which 
best  illustrates  the  fearlessness  and  generous  energy 
of  the  man,  is  one  in  which  he  declares,  that  as  to  the 
building  of  St.  Peter's  by  the  profits  arising  from  the 
distribution  of  indulgences,  the  pope,  who  was  "  richer 
than  the  richest  Crassus,"  could,  if  he  pleased,  finish 
it  with  his  own  funds  :  but  that  even  if  he  had  not  the 
means  of  completing  the  church,  it  would  be  far  better 
to  sell  it  as  it  stood,  for  the  relief  of  those  who,  for  its 
erection,  were  defrauded  into  the  purchase  of  worth- 
less and  ineffectual  dispensations,  or  to  burn  the  whole 
pile  to  the  ground,  than  thus  to  build  it  up  with  the 
blood  and  substance  of  the  poor. 

Tetzel,  who,  when  these  celebrated  propositions 
issued  from  the  press^  was  at  Frankfort,  acting  as  in- 
quisitor, and  prosecuting  his  trade  in  pardons,  exaspe- 
rated at  the  tenor  of  a  document  which  threatened  to 
deprive  him  of  his  occupation,  and  still  more  by  the 
opprobrium  which  Luther  had  publicly  cast  upon  him, 
published  a  set  of  counter  propositions,  in  which,  says 
Luther,  "  he  maintained  the  most  insolent  and  impious 
doctrines  relative  to  the  infallibility  and  pretended 
power  of  the  pope,  and  railed  against  heresiarchs,  by 


68  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

which  title  he  designated  me  and  my  friends  ;  winding 
up  his  insolence  by  publicly  burning  my  theses  in 
Frankfort." 

Among  the  counter  theses  which  Tetzel  put  forth, 
and  declared  himself  ready  to  defend,  are  the  follow- 
ing :— 

III.  "  Christians  should  be  taught,  that  the  pope,  in 
the  plenitude  of  his  power,  is  superior  to  the  universal 
church,  and  superior  to  councils  ;  and  that  entire  sub- 
mission is  due  to  his  decrees." 

IV.  "  Christians  should  be  taught,  that  the  pope 
alone  has  the  right  to  decide  in  questions  of  Christian 
doctrine  ;  that  he  alone,  and  no  other,  has  power  to 
explain,  according  to  his  judgment,  the  sense  of  Holy 
Scripture,  and  to  approve  or  condemn  the  words  and 
works  of  others." 

V.  "  Christians  should  be  taught,  that  the  judgment 
of  the  pope,  in  things  pertaining  to  Christian  doctrine 
and  necessary  to  the  salvation  of  mankind,  can  in  no 
case  err." 

XVII.  "  Christians  should  be  taught,  that  there  are 
many  things  which  the  church  regards  as  certain  arti- 
cles of  the  Catholic  faith,  although  they  are  not  found 
either  in  the  inspired  Scripture  or  in  the  early  fathers." 

No  sooner  did  the  news  of  the  scorn  which  had 
been  put  upon  their  eminent  and  revered  instructer 
come  to  the  ears  of  the  students  at  Wittenberg,  than 
they  assembled  in  great  numbers,  and  retaliated  upon 
'"etzel,  by  committing  his  publication  to  the  flames, 
amid  the  cheers  and  hootings  of  many  of  the  older 
citizens.  "  I  was  not  grieved,"  Luther  adds,  "  that 
such  a  collection  of  extravagance  and  absurdity  met 
with  its  just  fate  ;  but  I  did  regret  the  manner  in  which 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  69 

the  thing  was  done ;  and  solemnly  affirm  that  I  knew  no- 
thing of  it,  neither  did  the  elector  or  the  magistrates." 
Other  opponents  now  began  to  take  the  field  against 
Luther.  Foremost  among  them  was  John  Eck,  vice- 
chancellor  of  the  university  of  Ingolstadt,  a  town  in 
Bavaria.  The  virulence  of  this  personage's  eloquent, 
but  not  very  argumentative,  attack,  however,  rendered 
it  innocuous  to  any  but  his  own  party.  Luther  treated 
him  with  profound  and  merited  contempt.  Another 
assailant,  and  one  who,  if  not  much  more  formidable 
in  point  of  argument,  was  so,  at  least,  in  virtue  of  his 
official  station,  was  Sylvester  Prierias,  also  a  Domini- 
can, and  master  of  the  apostolical  palace  at  Rome, 
part  of  whose  duty  consisted  in  the  licensing  of  books. 
With  the  arrogance  and  supercilious  complacency 
proper  to  his  censorial  functions,  Prierias  summa- 
rily disposed  of  the  Wittenberg  memorial,  by  pro- 
nouncing all  its  arguments  to  be  alike  heretical.  In 
his  reply,  Luther,  with  admirable  skill,  exposes  the 
exquisite  silliness  and  impertinence  of  thus  concluding 
a  question,  ex  cathedrd  and  in  limine ;  which,  however, 
he  observes,  in  recurring  to  this  passage  of  his  history, 
"is  the  usual  method  of  reasoning  on  the  part  of  the 
Roman  tyrants."  He  laid  down  in  this  production 
two  noble  principles.  "  The  first  is  this  passage  of 
St  Paul :  '  If  any  one  preach  unto  you  another  gospel 
than  that  is  preached,  though  he  should  be  an  angel 
from  heaven,  let  him  be  accursed.'  The  second  is 
from  St.  Augustine  writing  to  Jerome  :  '  I  have  learn- 
ed to  render  to  the  inspired  Scriptures  alone  the 
homage  of  a  firm  belief  that  they  have  never  erred ; 
as  to  others,  I  do  not  believe  in  the  things  they  teach, 
simply  because  it  is  they  who  teach  them.' "     He  con- 


70  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

eludes  his  reply  by  referring  to  the  threatening  lan- 
guage which  Prierias  had  used :  "  You  say  that  the 
pope  is  both  pontiff  and  emperor,  and  that  he  can  em- 
ploy the  secular  arm  to  compel  obedience.  Do  you 
thirst  for  blood,  then  ?  I  protest  to  you  that  these 
rodomontades  and  menaces  of  yours  give  me  not  the 
slightest  alarm.  For  what  if  I  were  to  lose  my  life  1 
Christ  still  lives  ;  Christ,  my  Lord,  and  the  Lord  of 
all,  blessed  for  ever.  Amen."  This  was  the  secret 
of  Luther's  courage  from  first  to  last.  He  most  en- 
tirely saw  and  felt  that  the  truth  advocated  by  him 
was  not  his,  but  Christ's  ;  and  he  as  much  believed  in 
the  actual  defence  of  truth  by  the  power  of  Christ,  as 
though  he  had  every  moment  had  the  glorious  vision 
present  with  him  of  the  heavens  opened,  and  Christ 
Jesus  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  there,  in 
calm  but  resistless  majesty,  maintaining  his  own  cause. 
The  apostolical  licenser,  so  far  from  being  silenced 
by  the  castigation  he  had  received,  put  forth  a  second 
and  still  more  objectionable  pamphlet ;  in  which  he 
contended  not  only  that  the  Papal  authority  was  su- 
perior to  that  of  councils,  and  the  ancient  canons  of 
the  church,  but  also  that  the  true  interpretation  of  the 
sacred  writings  themselves  was  altogether  dependant 
upon  the  mere  dictum  of  the  pope.  To  such  blas- 
phemy and  unflinching  imposture,  Luther  avers  that 
he  deemed  it  unnecessary  to  give  any  further  answer ; 
contenting  himself  with  a  brief  and  pithy  declara- 
tion, that  the  book  of  Prierias  was,  from  beginning 
to  end,  so  totally  made  up  of  impiety  and  falsehood, 
that  it  could  only  have  been  written  at  the  instigation 
of  the  devil,  if,  indeed,  Satan  was  not  its  veritable 
author ;  and  that  if  the  pope  and  cardinals  approved 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  71 

of  such  productions,  Rome  must  surely  be  the  seat 
of  all  abominations,  and  the  synagogue  of  antichrist. 
"  Blasphemous,  dissolute,  and  unhappy  Rome,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  the  wrath  of  God,  which  thou  hast  deeply 
merited,  is  come  upon  thee  ;  thou  habitation  of  impuri- 
ties, and  very  pantheon  of  impiety !" 

The  next  adversary  who  entered  the  lists  upon  the 
side  of  Papacy  was  a  certain  long-breathed  and  very 
dull  writer,  who  laboured  under  the  ponderous  name  of 
Hoogenstraaten.  This  priest,  we  apprehend,  must 
have  been  afflicted  with  a  constitutional  itching  for 
disputation.  With  as  little  knowledge  of  the  sub- 
jects he  assumed  to  deal  with  as  ever  a  poor  intellect 
brought  to  a  forlorn  undertaking,  he  could  not  refrain 
from  thrusting  his  barren  lucubrations  into  collision 
with  the  efforts  of  the  mightiest  spirits  of  his  age.  It 
was  not  Luther  alone  upon  whose  path  he  foisted  the 
leaden  abortions  of  his  brain  ;  nor  did  he  confine  his 
labours  to  polemical  divinity.  Other  distinguished 
writers,  and,  among  the  rest,  Erasmus,  were  honoured 
with  his  controversial  hostility.  He  was  one  of  those 
literal-minded,  narrow-hearted  compounds  of  frozen 
stolidity,  to  whom  the  solemn  pedantries  and  congenial 
prejudices  of  an  outworn  system  are  an  inheritance 
and  birthright ;  about  whom  they  cling  as  an  appropri- 
ate garment ;  and  who,  by  original  defect  of  sensi- 
bility, are  precluded  from  all  sympathy  with  noble  im- 
pulses and  liberal  thought.  More  honest,  as  of  blunter 
faculties,  and  fully  more  bitter  than  were  his  coadju- 
tors, he  recommended  to  the  pope  to  reconvert  Luther 
by  imprisonment  and  fire  ;  it  never  having  occurred  to 
him  that  the  disparity  of  intellectual  grasp  and  vigor 
between  himself  and  Luther  inferred,  a  priori,  a  pro- 


72  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

bability  of  the  latter  being  right,  while  he  was  in  the 
wrong.  A  greater  power  of  stringing  together  sen- 
tences of  obscure  meaning  and  no  worth,  never  man 
possessed  than  did  Hoogenstraaten.  If  he  had  written 
his  own  somewhat  ominous  appellation  over  and  over 
again,  some  thousands  of  times,  his  volumes  would 
have  been  of  about  the  same  value  to  the  Roman  hie- 
rarchy, and,  in  all  likelihood,  just  as  long  remembered 
in  the  world  of  letters. 

The  list  of  the  reformer's  earliest  antagonists  closes 
with  the  names  of  Enisen, — an  author  whose  asperi- 
ties were  abundantly  countervailed  by  his  insignifi- 
cance, and  who  is  now  generally  forgotten, — and  the 
cardinal  Cajetan,  of  whom  we  shall  have  more  to  say 
hereafter.  To  all  of  these  Luther  responded  at  much 
length,  and  with  a  store  of  Scriptural  and  theological 
learning  which  was,  for  the  time,  even  more  extraor- 
dinary than  were  the  logical  force,  the  breadth  of  illus- 
tration, and  singular  variety  of  intelligence,  which  his 
polemical  works  exhibit.  In  reviewing  the  produc- 
tions of  tins  first  set  of  opponents  to  the  incipient  Re- 
formation, it  is  really  curious  to  observe  with  what 
extreme  feebleness,  what  spiteful  imbecility  and  fatu- 
ous self-exposure,  they  conducted  the  vindication  of 
their  cause,  and  avowed  themselves  the  champions  of 
that  ignorance  and  servile  bigotry  which  their  writings 
betokened.  "I  know  not,"  says  Erasmus,  in  one  of 
his  epistles,  "  how  it  has  happened  ;  but  certain  it  is, 
that  they  who  first  contended  against  him  were  not 
less  the  foes  of  learning  than  of  Luther.  Hence  the 
friends  of  learning  were  the  less  adverse  to  him,  be- 
cause, by  aiding  his  adversaries,  they  would  have  done 
injury  to  their  own  cause." 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  73 

CHAPTER  III. 

Luther  was  now  in  his  thirty-fifth  year.  He  had 
published  his  theses  concerning  indulgences,  and  the 
loud  and  angry  replies  that  were  immediately  poured 
forth  proved  that  the  arrow  which  the  monk  had  sent 
forth  at  a  venture  had  struck  between  the  joints  of  the 
harness,  and  inflicted  a  wound,  if  not  on  a  vital,  yet  on 
an  extremely-sensitive  part.  Before  entering  on  the 
description  of  the  contests  that  followed,  of  the  extent 
and  consequences  of  which  it  is  plain  that  he  had  no- 
thing like  an  adequate  conception,  it  will  be  proper  to 
consider  the  principles  on  which  he  acted,  and  the  ob- 
jects at  which  he  aimed.  The  labours  of  the  man 
will  be  enveloped  in  complete  obscurity,  unless  the 
man  himself,  as  he  really  was  at  this  period  of  his  life, 
be  well  understood. 

That  he  was  a  Christian,  in  the  highest  sense  of 
the  term,  the  foregoing  narrative  will  have  evinced  : 
he  was  possessed,  therefore,  of  godly  sincerity.  He 
not  only  believed  that  he  was  right, — that  is,  he  was 
no  hypocrite, — but,  which  is  far  more  important,  he 
aesired  and  intended  to  be  right.  He  was  willing  to 
do  the  will  of  God,  and  therefore  he  was  anxious 
to  know  it.  He  believed  that  the  opinions  he  had 
formed  were  correct,  and  when  assailed,  he  defended 
them  ;  but  he  defended  them  because  he  regarded 
them  as  portions  of  divine  truth,  not  because  they  were 
his  own.  Nor  is  this  distinction  a  merely  verbal  one. 
He  who  defends  his  opinions  because  they  are  his, 
maintains  the  position  which  he  occupies  for  the  sake 
4 


74  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

of  the  honour  which  he  connects  with  successful  argu- 
ment. He  contends  for  victory ;  he  is  prompted  by 
pride.  And  the  means  which  he  employs  will  be  in 
no  small  degree  influenced  by  the  end  which  he  seeks. 
Aiming  at  victory  rather  than  truth,  the  arguments  he 
uses  will  be  such  as  appear  calculated  to  secure  the 
one,  rather  than  to  discover  the  other.  But  he  who 
defends  his  opinions  because  he  believes  them  to  be 
portions  of  divinely-revealed  truth,  defends  them  be- 
cause of  their  intrinsic  excellence  and  value  ;  and 
therefore  he  will  always  be  ready  to  listen  to  the  argu- 
ments which  seem  to  show  that  he  is  mistaken.  He 
contends  for  the  truth  because  he  loves  the  truth  ;  and 
he  loves  the  truth  because  he  knows  that  nothing  else 
can  impart  heavenly  wisdom,  and  contribute  to  the  real 
well-being  of  the  immortal  mind.  He  will  neither  be 
changeable  nor  obstinate.  What  he  believes  to  be 
the  truth,  he  will  always  have  the  courage  to  main- 
tain ;  what  he  discovers  to  be  error,  he  will  always 
have  the  honesty  to  renounce. 

Such  at  this  time  was  Luther.  To  know  the  truth 
for  himself,  and  to  make  the  truth  known  to  others, 
were  the  governing  desires,  they  might  almost  be 
called,  the  ruling  passions,  of  his  whole  soul. 

And  the  truth  which  he  desired  to  know  and  teach, 
he  sought  in  its  proper  source,  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
These  he  studied  for  himself;  these  he  laboured  to 
explain  to  others.  When  his  own  opinions  were  as- 
sailed, the  Scriptures  furnished  him  with  weapons  of 
defence  ;  and  when  he  became  the  assailant,  they 
supplied  weapons  of  attack.  "  To  the  law  and  the 
testimony"  was  his  unwavering  appeal.  The  Bible 
was  for  him  both  the  fountain  and  standard  of  truth. 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  75 

When  called  to  the  combat,  he  was  careful  to  "  fight 
the  good  fight  of  faith,"  and  not  less  careful  to  com- 
bat with  "  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word 
of  God." 

But  the  most  important  aspect  of  Luther's  character 
yet  remains  to  be  considered.  In  saying  that  he  was 
truly  a  spiritual  man, — that  he  was  under  the  gospel 
what  such  as  Nathanael  were  under  the  law,  "  Israel- 
ites indeed,  in  whom  was  no  guile," — we  say  no  more 
than  may  be  said  of  many  who  lived  and  died  in  the 
communion  of  the  Roman  Church.  The  celebrated 
Thomas  a  Kempis  may  be  mentioned  as  belonging  to 
a  very  important  class  of  religionists,  sincerely  devoted 
to  the  service  of  God.  But,  while  their  piety  was 
undoubted,  their  sentiments  on  some  most  important 
subjects  were  exceedingly  incorrect.  The  system  to 
which  they  belonged  almost  unavoidably  occasioned 
this.  The  doctrines  of  penance  and  absolution  can 
scarcely  fail  of  diverting  the  attention  from  the  great 
evangelical  method  of  a  sinner's  justification,  forensic- 
ally  considered ;  and  as  neither  the  practice  of  penance 
nor  the  reception  of  absolution  was  sufficient  to  give 
peace  to  the  sincere  and  awakened  conscience,  other 
methods  were  sought  which  gave  to  the  whole  piety  a 
distinctive  character.  To  the  law  of  God,  such  men 
as  Kempis  devoutly  attended  ;  and  their  remarks  and 
directions  on  subjects  connected  with  obedience  and 
self-denial  are  often  not  only  correct  but  invaluable. 
But  even  their  obedience  did  not  give  them  peace  ; 
for,  as  they  went  on  to  know  more  of  the  law,  and 
more  of  themselves,  the  imperfection  of  their  best  per- 
formances was  continually  before  them,  and  the  peace 
they  found  not  in  doing,  they  sought,  but  not  more  sue- 


76  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

cessfully,  in  suffering.  They  sought,  in  fact,  to  make 
atonement  for  their  own  sins,  and  by  physical  austeri- 
ties utterly  to  subdue  the  motions  of  the  flesh. 

This,  at  first,  was  Luther's  state  ;  and  we  have  not 
only  seen  the  fact,  but  the  method,  of  his  deliverance. 
He  was  led  to  study  the  gospel  as  well  as  the  law, 
and  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  differences  between 
them.  He  had  fully  entered  into  the  subject  opened 
to  the  mind  by  such  declarations  as,  "  By  grace  ye 
are  saved  ;"  and,  "  Being  justified  by  faith,  we 

HAVE   PEACE    WITH    GOD    THROUGH    OUR    LORD    JeSUS 

Christ."  He  considered  the  atonement  of  Christ  as 
the  only  foundation  of  a  sinner's  hope,  and  studied  it, 
therefore,  both  deeply  and  practically.  He  had  a  clear 
and  distinct  perception  of  the  revelation  of  the  expi- 
atory and  vicarious  character  of  the  sufferings  of 
Christ ;  and,  following  out  the  doctrine  in  all  its  Scrip- 
tural ramifications,  he  had  arrived  at  what  he  after- 
ward called  "the  article  of  a  standing  or  falling 
church,"  that  as  without  pardon  there  could  be  no 
peace  of  conscience,  so  pardon  itself  was  the  free  and 
most  merciful  gift  of  God,  which  the  penitent  sinner 
was  to  receive  by  faith  in  Christ,  and  which  by  that 
faith  alone  he  could  receive.  Faith,  he  saw,  was  re- 
quired, because  that  faith  was  the  distinct  acknow- 
ledgment that  pardon  was  given  for  the  sake  of 
Christ's  atonement.  By  this  faith  Luther  had  himself 
found  the  peace  and  the  power  which  asceticism  had 
never  been  able  to  convey ;  and  in  this  faith  he  con- 
tinued to  live,  as  in  this  faith  he  eventually  expired. 

It  was  to  be  expected,  therefore,  that  to  this  great 
subject  his  preaching  and  teaching  should  bear  expli- 
cit, faithful,  and  constant  testimony.     And  thus  it  was. 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  77 

His  works  are  characterized  by  it ;  and  he  deals  with 
the  subject  with  an  earnestness  which  proves  the  over- 
whelming importance  which  he  attached  to  it.  A  few 
citations  from  one  of  the  best-known  English  transla- 
tions of  his  works,  his  "  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to 
the  Galatians,"  will  prove  this. 

The  favourite  subject  of  Luther  was  the  different 
operations  of  the  law  and  the  gospel.  He  fully  under- 
stood the  effect  of  the  law  on  the  awakened  conscience 
of  the  sinner,  according  to  the  apostle's  declaration, 
"  For  the  law  worketh  wrath."  To  produce,  therefore, 
a  conviction  of  sin,  he  would  have  the  law  employed. 
"  Among  those,"  he  says,  "  which  are  not  of  the  num- 
ber of  God's  people,  the  greatest  point  of  wisdom  is  to 
know,  and  earnestly  to  urge,  the  law,  and  the  active 
righteousness."  But  this  being  secured,  the  conscience 
being  thoroughly  aroused,  the  elevated  purity  of  the  law, 
and  the  entire  corruption  and  weakness  of  man,  being 
clearly  seen,  deeply  felt,  and  unreservedly  acknow- 
ledged; and  the  question,  "What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved?"  being  extorted  by  the  pressure  of  guilt,  set 
home  to  the  heart  with  all  the  force  of  a  divine  com- 
mandment,— another  mode  of  address  is  required.  Lu- 
ther thoroughly  understood  this.  He  knew,  both  from 
study  and  experience,  that  from  the  contemplation  of 
the  law,  considered  in  its  proper  character,  as  authori- 
tative direction,  no  peace  could  be  derived  to  the  sin- 
ner. "  True  it  is,"  he  says,  "  that  of  all  things  in  the 
world  the  law  is  most  excellent :  yet  it  is  not  able  to 
quiet  a  troubled  conscience,  but  increaseth  its  terrors, 
and  driveth  it  to  desperation."  In  describing  "  the  true 
way  to  Christianity,"  he  assigns  the  reason  of  this,  as 
indeed  it  had  before  been  assigned  by  the  apostle  iu 


78  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

saying  that  the  law  "was  weak  through  the  flesh." 
"  Now  the  true  way  to  Christianity  is  this,  that  a  man 
do  first  acknowledge  himself  by  the  law  to  be  a  sinner, 
and  that  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  do  any  good  work. 
For  the  law  saith,  '  Thou  art  an  evil  tree,  and  therefore 
all  that  thou  thinkest,  speakest,  or  doest,  is  against 
God.'  Thou  canst  not,  therefore,  deserve  grace  by  thy 
works  ;  which  if  thou  go  about  to  do,  thou  doublest  thy 
offence  ;  for  since  thou  art  an  evil  tree,  thou  canst  not 
but  bring  forth  evil  fruits,  that  is  to  say,  sins.  When 
a  man  is  thus  taught  and  instructed  by  the  law,  then  is 
he  terrified  and  humbled;  then  he  seeth  indeed  the 
greatness  of  his  sin,  and  cannot  find  in  himself  one 
spark  of  the  love  of  God ;  therefore  he  justifieth  God 
in  his  word,  and  confesseth  that  he  is  guilty  of  death 
and  eternal  damnation.  The  first  part,  then,  of  Chris- 
tianity is  the  preaching  of  repentance,  and  the  know- 
ledge of  ourselves."  Again :  "  The  law  requireth  per- 
fect obedience  unto  God,  and  condemneth  all  those  that 
do  not  accomplish  the  same.  Now  it  is  certain  that 
there  is  no  man  living  which  is  able  to  perform  this 
obedience,  which,  notwithstanding,  God  rightly  re- 
quireth of  us.  The  law,  therefore,  justifieth  not,  but 
condemneth,  according  to  that  saying,  '  Cursed  is  he 
that  abideth  not  in  all  things  that  are  written  in  this 
book.' "  "  For  the  law  always  accuseth  and  terrifieth, 
saying,  '  Thou  didst  never  accomplish  all  that  is  com- 
manded in  the  law ;  but  accursed  is  he  that  hath  not 
done  all  things  contained  therein.'  Wherefore  these 
terrors  remain  still  in  the  conscience,  and  remain  more 
and  more."  And  thus,  in  effect,  is  the  law  established 
The  greater  is  the  excellence  of  the  law,  the  greater 
is  the  evil  of  sin.     If  to  give  the  law  were  right,  so  it 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  79 

is  to  require  obedience.  A  holy  lawgiver  can  admit 
no  compromise  with  sin.  Man  must  therefore  obey 
the  law,  or  be  condemned  by  it.  But,  if  the  Scriptures 
be  received  as  a  standard,  man  now,  through  what  is 
emphatically  termed  "  the  fall,"  is  incapable  of  render- 
ing the  required  obedience  without  divine  assistance  ; 
which  supposes  an  interposition  of  grace,  for  which, 
of  course,  the  law  makes  no  provision.  The  law  con- 
demns him.  How  then  can  he  be  justified  ?  That  is, 
how  shall  the  sin  which  the  law  declares,  detects,  and 
condemns,  be  pardoned  1  Most  assuredly  not  by  God 
as  administering  the  law,  and  governing  by  means  of  it. 

Two  great  facts  the  Scriptures  reveal  on  this  sub- 
ject :  first,  that  the  forgiveness  of  sins  is  the  free  gift 
of  God's  mercy ;  and,  secondly,  that  for  a  demonstra- 
tion and  exposition  of  his  governing  righteousness,  the 
incarnate  Son  of  God,  offering  himself  on  the  cross  as 
a  sacrifice  for  sin,  and  suffering  in  the  place  of  the 
sinner,  is  "  set  forth  as  a  propitiation."  Here,  there- 
fore, is  another  economy,  another  house-law,  which  the 
sovereign  Father  of  the  human  family  imposes.  He 
thus  constitutes  his  throne  "  the  throne  of  grace,"  and 
administers  mercy  not  arbitrarily,  but  according  to  a 
plan  devised  by  wisdom  and  effected  by  love.  The 
proper  type  of  the  eternal  Lord  is  found,  not  in  his 
descent  on  Sinai  as  lawgiver,  but  in  the  symbol  of  his 
merciful  presence  in  the  temple,  the  Shekinah  on  the 
mercy-seat. 

The  question  resolves  itself  to  this,  How  is  man  to 
approach  the  mercy-seat  1  How  is  he  to  come  to  God 
for  pardon,  the  pardon  which  constitutes  him  righteous 
by  the  removal  of  guilt?  Had  he  had  no  guilt  to  be 
removed,  righteousness  would  have  been  the  natural 


80  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

result  of  his  own  obedience ;  but  now,  having  con- 
tracted the  guilt,  he  must  be  reckoned,  accounted,  dealt 
with  as  righteous  ;  in  other  words,  righteousness  must 
be  imputed  to  him. 

Luther  had  studied  the  subject  thoroughly ;  and  he 
clearly  saw  that  the  condition  on  which  pardon  was 
received  was  in  perfect  agreement  with  the  manner  in 
which  pardon  was  offered.  It  was  to  be  so  received 
as  to  declare,  on  the  part  of  the  receiver,  the  rich,  the 
free,  the  unmerited  mercy  from  which  it  proceeded. 
In  Scriptural  language,  he  saw  that  it  was  of  faith,  be- 
cause it  was  of  grace ;  and  therefore  that  faith  itself  was 
a  direct  trust  in  Christ,  as  the  atoning  sacrifice  for  the 
sins  of  mankind.  On  this  point  he  speaks  both  clearly 
and  strongly.  "  This  heavenly  righteousness  is  given 
us  of  God,  without  our  works  or  deservings."  "  Where- 
fore the  afflicted  and  troubled  conscience  hath  no  re- 
medy against  desperation  and  eternal  death,  unless  it 
take  hold  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins  by  grace,  freely 
offered  in  Christ  Jesus."  "We  say  that  there  is  no- 
thing in  us  that  is  able  to  deserve  grace  and  the  for- 
giveness of  sins ;  but  we  preach  that  we  obtain  this 
grace  by  the  free  mercy  of  God  only  for  Christ's  sake." 
In  reference  to  the  favourite  doctrine  of  the  Papists, 
that  faith  justified  as  it  was  connected  and  furnished 
with  charity,  he  says,  "  That  faith  which  apprehendeth 
Christ  the  Son  of  God,  and  is  furnished  with  him,  is  the 
faith  which  justifieth."  "Faith  therefore  justifieth, 
because  it  apprehendeth  and  possesseth  this  treasure." 

Wherefore  it  is  a  great  matter  by  faith  to  lay  hold 
upon  Christ,  bearing  the  sins  of  the  world.  And  this 
faith  alone  is  counted  for  righteousness."  "  This  is 
the  true  way  to  become  a  Christian,  even  to  be  justified 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  81 

by  faith  in   Jesus  Christ,  without  the  works  of  the 
law." 

That  in  thus  speaking  of  faith,  he  overlooked  not  the 
proper  necessity  of  good  works,  in  their  right  order, 
innumerable  passages  from  his  works  might  be  quoted 
to  prove.  As  an  example,  one  brief  but  very  compre- 
hensive paragraph  may  be  given.  "  We  grant  that  we 
must  teach  also  good  works  and  charity,  but  it  must  be 
done  in  time  and  place  ;  that  is  to  say,  when  the  ques- 
tion is  concerning  works,  and  toucheth  not  this  article 
of  justification.  But  here  the  question  is,  by  what 
means  we  are  justified  and  attain  eternal  life  1  To  this 
we  answer,  with  St.  Paul,  that  by  faith  only  in  Christ 
we  are  pronounced  righteous,  and  not  by  the  works  of 
the  law."  He  strove  laboriously  to  keep  the  distinc- 
tion in  view.  "  We  do  not  here  dispute  whether  we 
ought  to  do  good  works  ;  whether  the  law  be  holy,  good, 
and  just ;  whether  it  ought  to  be  kept,  or  not ;  for  this 
is  another  manner  of  question.  But  our  question  is 
concerning  justification,  and  whether  the  law  do  justify 
us,  or  no."  He  thus  connects  the  two  :  "  Faith  taketh 
hold  of  Christ.  And  whosoever  shall  be  found  having 
this  confidence  in  Christ  apprehended  in  the  heart,  him 
will  God  account  for  righteous.  This  is  the  mean,  and 
this  is  the  merit,  whereby  we  attain  the  remission  of 
sins  and  righteousness.  '  Because  thou  believest  in 
me,'  saith  the  Lord,  *  and  thy  faith  layeth  hold  upon 
Christ,  whom  I  have  freely  given  unto  thee,  that  he 
might  be  thy  Mediator  and  High  Priest,  therefore,  be 
ihou  justified  and  righteous.'  Wherefore  God  doth 
accept  or  account  us  as  righteous  only  for  our  faith  in 
Christ.  When  we  have  thus  taught  faith  in  Christ, 
then  do  we  teach  also  good  works.  Because  thou  hast 
4* 


82  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

laid  hold  upon  Christ  by  faith,  through  whom  thou  art 
made  righteous,  begin  now  to  work  well ;  love  God 
and  thy  neighbour ;  call  upon  God ;  give  thanks  unto 
him ;  praise  him  ;  confess  him.  These  are  good  works 
indeed,  which  flow  out  of  this  faith  and  this  cheerful- 
ness conceived  in  the  heart,  for  that  we  have  remission 
of  sins  freely  by  Christ.  And  what  cross  or  affliction 
doth  afterward  ensue,  they  are  easily  borne,  and  cheer- 
fully suffered.  For  the  yoke  that  Christ  layeth  upon 
us  is  sweet,  and  his  burden  easy.  When  sin  is  par- 
doned, and  the  conscience  delivered  from  the  burden 
and  sting  of  sin,  then  may  a  Christian  bear  all  things 
easily.  Because  he  feeleth  all  things  within  sweet 
and  comfortable,  therefore  he  doeth  and  suffereth  all 
things  willingly.  But  when  a  man  walketh  in  his  own 
righteousness,  whatsoever  he  doeth  is  grievous  and 
tedious  unto  him,  because  he  doeth  it  unwillingly." 

Of  this  "  doctrine  of  grace  and  salvation,"  he  says, 
that  "  it  approveth  and  establisheth  civil  government, 
household  government,  and  all  kinds  of  life  that  are 
ordained  and  appointed  of  God.  It  rooteth  up  all  doc- 
trines of  error,  sedition,  confusion,  and  such  like  ;  and 
it  putteth  away  the  fear  of  sin  and  death.  And,  to  be 
short,  it  dis  cover eth  all  the  subtle  sleights  and  works 
of  the  devil,  and  openeth  the  benefits  and  love  of  God 
toward  us  in  Christ." 

Thus  viewing  the  gospel  method  of  justifying  the 
ungodly,  it  will  not  be  wondered  that  he  regarded  it  as 
the  chief  cardinal  doctrine  to  be  exhibited  by  preachers 
to  their  hearers.  "  For  if  we  neglect  the  article  of 
justification,  we  lose  all  together.  Therefore,  most 
necessary  it  is,  chiefly,  and  above  all  things,  that  we 
teach  and  repeat  this  article  continually,  like  as  Moses 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  83 

says  of  his  law ;  for  it  cannot  be  beaten  into  our  ears 
enough,  or  too  much."  "  This  is  the  truth  of  the  gos- 
oel.  It  is  the  principal  article  of  all  Christian  doctrine, 
wherein  the  knowledge  of  all  godliness  consisteth. 
Most  necessary  it  is,  therefore,  that  we  should  know 
this  article  ourselves,  and  teach  it  unto  others  con- 
tinually." "  As  touching  charity,  we  ought  to  be  soft, 
and  more  flexible  than  the  reed  or  leaf  that  is  shaken 
with  the  wind,  and  ready  to  yield  to  everything.  As  con- 
cerning faith,  we  ought  to  be  invincible,  and  more  hard, 
if  need  be,  than  the  adamant  stone.  Wherefore,  God 
assisting  me,  my  forehead  shall  be  more  hard  than  all 
men's  foreheads.  Here  I  take  upon  me  this  title,  accord- 
ing to  the  proverb,  Cedo  nulli,  1 1  give  place  to  none.'" 

These  quotations  may  be  closed  by  one  which  sums 
up  the  whole,  and  shows  his  accuracy  and  carefulness  : 
"  So  we  at  this  day  do  not  reject  fasting  and  other  good 
exercises  as  damnable  things ;  but  we  teach  that  by 
these  exercises  we  do  not  obtain  remission  of  sins. 
When  the  people  hear  this,  by  and  by  they  judge  us 
to  speak  against  good  works.  And  this  opinion  the 
Papists  do  confirm  and  increase  by  their  preachings 
and  writings.  But  they  lie,  and  do  us  great  wrong. 
For  many  years  past,  there  was  never  any  that  taught 
more  sound  and  godly  doctrine  as  touching  good  works 
than  we  do  at  this  day." 

The  nature  of  Luther's  attack  on  the  Papacy  will 
now  be  clearly  understood.  Others  before  him  had 
seen,  acknowledged,  and  lamented  the  gross  corrup- 
tions which  were  spread  over  the  whole  church,  affect- 
ing both  head  and  members  ;  and  the  abuses  which 
they  attempted  not  to  deny,  they  had  often  sought  to 
remove.     But  they  saw  not  the  source  whence  the 


84  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

whole  corruption  proceeded.  Even  among  the  more 
thoughtful,  justification  was  confounded  with  sanctifica- 
tion ;  and  by  the  few  who  held  justification  by  faith  at 
all,  faith  was  only  regarded  as  a  germinant  principle  of 
obedience  ;  that  is  to  say,  of  righteousness  in  heart  and 
life.  These  earlier  complainants,  therefore,  only  struck 
at  separate  branches  of  corruption ;  and  to  their  other 
complaints  this  was  soon  added,  that  all  their  efforts 
were  in  vain. 

Luther,  on  the  contrary,  ascertained  first  of  all  the 
great  truth  which  the  church  was  required  to  hold  ;  and 
all  that  contravened  this,  he  judged,  for  that  reason,  to 
be  error.  He  struck  at  the  root  rather  than  at  the 
branches ;  and  by  striking  at  the  root,  struck  most 
effectually  at  the  branches.  He  saw  that  remission  of 
sins  was  God's  gift,  through  the  all-perfect  merits  of 
the  only  Saviour,  and  received  by  a  faith  which  had 
that  Saviour,  in  his  redeeming  character,  as  its  direct 
object.  This  he  knew  to  be  right ;  and  all  that  was 
inconsistent  with  it  he  knew  to  be  wrong.  With  the 
principles  thus  furnished  him,  he  entered  upon  the 
question  of  indulgences  ;  and  with  the  same  principles 
he  proceeded  in  those  further  inquiries  which  his  op- 
ponents forced  upon  him.  These  principles,  too,  he 
traced,  carefully  and  slowly,  to  their  legitimate  results  ; 
and  the  unavoidable  consequence  was,  that  a  religious 
system  rose  before  him  utterly  at  variance  with  the 
Papacy,  but  which,  at  first  to  his  great  astonishment, 
he  found  clearly  taught  in  the  Scriptures  of  truth.  And 
this  was  enough  for  him  who  took  this  ground,  "  Nei- 
ther ought  any  doctrine  to  be  taught  or  heard  in  the 
church  beside  the  pure  word  of  God,  that  is  to  say,  the 
Holy  Scripture." 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  85 


CHAPTER  IV. 

We  have  already  pointed  out  the  falsehood  of  the  ab- 
surd story  by  which  some  of  the  lower  advocates  of  the 
Papacy  have  sought  to  reproach  the  memory  of  Luther, 
and  to  destroy  his  reputation  for  single-mindedness  and 
integrity,  by  representing  his  opposition  to  Tetzel  as 
proceeding  from  jealousy  and  envy.  We  have  shown 
that  it  was  occasioned  by  his  devotion  to  the  truth  of 
God,  which  the  traffic  conducted  by  Tetzel  virtually 
denied,  and  which  that  unhappy  man  actually  denied 
both  in  his  preaching,  and  by  the  theses  which  he  pre- 
tended to  have  established.  At  first,  this  opposition 
referred  to  Tetzel  alone,  and  to  the  propositions  which 
he  had  undertaken  to  support ;  but  as  others,  who  came 
to  the  aid  of  this  seller  of  Papal  indulgences,  chose  to 
attack  his  assailant,  it  soon  became  evident  that  Luther 
must  either  retire  from  the  position  which  he  had  taken 
up,  or  that  he  must  defend  it  against  all  comers.  As 
he  had  not  undertaken  his  task  from  the  love  of  dis- 
putation, but  from  devotion  to  the  truth  of  the  gospel, 
he  felt  himself  obliged  in  conscience  to  persevere.  No 
matter  by  whom  he  might  be  attacked  ;  truth  was  to  be 
defended.  No  matter  what  new  views  might  open  be- 
fore him ;  truth  was  to  be  obediently  followed.  Nor 
was  controversy  all.  Toward  the  close  of  1517,  Tet- 
zel, the  inquisitor,  in  one  of  the  suburbs  of  Frankfort, 
after  a  solemn  procession,  first  inveighed  most  furiously 
against  Luther  from  the  pulpit,  declaring  that  he  ought 
to  be  burned  alive  as  a  heretic,  and  then  cast  his  pro- 


* 


86  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

positions  and  sermons  into  the  fire.  A  century  before, 
notwithstanding  the  plighted  faith  of  the  emperor  Sigis- 
mund,  the  Council  of  Constance  had  condemned  John 
Huss  to  the  flames,  whither,  in  a  very  brief  space,  he 
was  followed  by  Jerome  of  Prague.  But  by  none  of 
these  things  was  "Luther  moved.  They  who  only  judge 
of  him  from  the  warmth  of  his  language,  and  regard 
him  as  a  bold  though  successful  innovator,  form  an 
erroneous  conception*  of  his  character.  He  was  bold, 
but  he  was  steady.  He  thought  with  serious  calmness ; 
and  then  he  acted  not  only  with  vigour,  but,  if  neces- 
sary, with  daring.  His  was  the  courage  of  conscience. 
Before  all  things,  and  at  the  hazard  of  all  things,  truth 
was  to  be  defended  and  spread  ;  and  by  the  mainte- 
nance and  diffusion  of  truth  men  were  to  be  taught 
how  they  might  serve  God,  and  save  their  souls.  Tip 
to  a  certain  point  he  knew  that  he  was  right ;  and  he 
now  stood  prepared  to  learn  the  further  lessons  which 
might  open  before  him.  As  far  as  he  knew  the  truth, 
he  obeyed  it,  preached  it,  contended  for  it;  and  ere 
long  he  became  a  memorable  instance  for  the  illustra- 
tion of  the  scripture,  "  Then  shall  ye  know,  if  ye  foL 
low  on  to  know  the  Lord." 

The  court  of  Rome  was  too  closely  connected  with 
Tetzel,  and  too  deeply  implicated  in  his  schemes,  to 
allow  him  to  be  attacked  with  impunity.  The  pope 
seems  at  first  to  have  regarded  the  controversy  with' 
that  good-humoured  contempt  which  his  skeptical  in- 
difference would  be  very  likely  to  occasion.  But  they 
who  were  on  the  spot  perceived  more  distinctly  the 
real  posture  of  affairs.  They  saw  plainly  that  if  Lu- 
ther were  not  silenced,  the  sale  of  indulgences  would 
cease.     They  could  not  conceal  from  themselves  that 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  87 

his  conversion  or  his  punishment  had  become  essential 
to  the  safety  of  their  own  cause.  Even  the  emperor 
Maximilian  was  convinced  that  the  controversy  was  riot 
a  merely  wrangling  dispute,  but  one  that,  unless  checked, 
threatened  serious  and  extensive  innovation.  He  wrote, 
therefore,  to  the  pope,  assuring  him  that  his  interference 
had  now  become  necessary. 

Humanly  speaking,  everything  depended  on  the 
character  of  Papal  interposition.  Luther's  opinions 
on  the  supremacy  of  the  bishop  of  Rome  had  under- 
gone no  change  whatever.  He  regarded  the  pope  as 
the  earthly  and  visible  monarch  of  the  church ;  and  it 
would  have  been  easy  for  Leo  to  interfere  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  secure  his  continued  allegiance.  A  very 
little  cunning  might  have  prevented  the  incipient  Re- 
formation from  advancing  another  step.  But  they  did 
not  understand  Luther  at  Rome.  He  might  not  as  yet 
see  far,  but  he  saw  clearly  as  far  as  he  saw  at  all. 
The  consequences  of  his  principles  were  not  before 
him,  but  the  principles  themselves  were.  It  is  a  re- 
markable circumstance  that  his  attention  was  so  long 
directed,  and  almost  exclusively,  to  those  great  truths 
which  involve  the  most  important  consequences.  These 
he  studied.  With  their  evidences  he  made  himself 
thoroughly  acquainted.  And  when  assailed  by  Tetzel, 
Hochstraten,  Prierias,  and  subsequently  by  Eck,*  they 
all  felt  that  he  stood  as  on  a  rock,  though  they  knew 
not  the  secret  of  his  strength.  His  grand  principle 
was,  the  attainment  of  evangelical  righteousness  and 
peace  by  faith  in  the  blood  of  Christ;  and,  for  the 
defence  of  this  great  principle,  he  appealed  directly  to 

*  Latinized  into  Eckius,  or  Eccius. 


88  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

the  Scriptures,  as  the  word  of  God,  and  the  standard 
of  truth. 

Thus  opened  the  year  1518.  While  the  Roman 
court  was  deliberating  on  the  information  which  its 
correspondents  had  communicated,  the  advocates  of 
the  established  system  were  doing  all  in  their  power, 
not  indeed  meaning  this,  to  show  Luther  what  conse- 
quences unavoidably  followed  the  principles  he  had 
embraced.  Eck,  especially,  contributed  to  this.  He 
was  professor  of  divinity  at  Ingolstadt,  and  argued  on 
the  principles  of  the  scholastic  divinity  ;  but  his  wea- 
pons were  worse  than  useless  in  contest  with  an  oppo- 
nent who,  in  that  age,  could  say,  "  The  sovereign 
pontiff  is  a  man,  and  may  be  deceived ;  but  God  is 
truth,  and  deceived  he  cannot  be."*  So  again,  arguing 
against  the  scholastic  doctor,  and  supposing  that  he 
would  readily  allow  it  to  be  the  height  of  audacity  for 
any  one  to  teach  as  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle,  what 
he  was  not  able  to  prove  by  the  authority  of  Aristotle, 
he  presses  home  the  rule  as  equally  applicable  to  the 
doctrines  of  religion : — "  Much  rather  is  it  the  most 
impudent  audacity  to  assert  in  the  church,  and  among 
Christians,  what  Christ  has  never  taught. "f 

It  deserves  notice,  that  about  the  same  time  he  pub- 
lished several  popular  tracts,  designed  to  instruct  the 
simple  and  unlearned  in  what  appeared  to  him  to  be 
the   true   principles   of  religion.     Thus,   as   he   had  ) 
preached  at  Wittenberg  sermons  on  the  Lord's  prayer J 

*  Homo  est  summus  Pontifex,  falli  potest ;  sed  Veritas  est  Deus, 
qui  falli  non  potest. 

T  Longe  ergo  impudentissima  omnium  temeritas  est,  aliquid  in 
ecclesia  asserere,  et  inter  Christianos,  quod  non  docuit  Christus. 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  89 

and  ten  commandments  not  long  before,  he  now  printed 
them,  that  they  might  "  run  through  the  land." 

Early  in  1518  the  order  to  which  he  belonged  held 
its  chapter  at  Heidelberg.  While  there,  he  wrote  some 
theses,  which,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  age,  he 
offered  to  maintain  by  public  disputation.  These,  that 
he  might  produce  the  deeper  impression,  he  proposed 
in  the  form  of  "  paradoxes."  Thus, — "  1.  The  law  of 
God  is  a  salutary  rule  of  life  ;  and  yet  it  cannot  help 
man  in  his  search  after  righteousness,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, impedes  him."  "26.  The  law  says,  *  Do  this,' 
and  it  is  not  done.  Grace  says,  '  Believe  in  him,'  and 
immediately  all  is  done."*  The  disputations  were 
numerously  attended,  the  deepest  interest  was  excited, 
and  among  the  auditors  seed  was  sown  which  bore  in- 
valuable fruit.  Bucer,  then  a  young  man,  and  chaplain 
to  the  elector  Palatine,  heard  the  Wittenberg  professor 
with  fixed  attention,  and  received  the  light  of  truth  and 
grace.  Two  other  young  men,  of  the  names  of  Brentz 
and  Snepf,  were  affected  in  like  manner,  and  before 
long  became  helpers  to  the  cause  of  the  infant  Re- 
formation. 

Returning  from  Heidelberg,  he  wrote  some  explana- 
tions, solutions  he  termed  them,  of  the  theses  he  had 
before  published.  In  these  he  speaks  very  respectfully 
of  Leo ;  but  the  man  who  could  write  thus, — "  It  is 
impossible  for  a  man  to  be  a  Christian  without  having 
Christ ;  and  if  he  has  Christ,  he  has  at  the  same  time 
all  that  is  in  Christ.  Christ  lays  his  hand  upon  us, 
and  we  are  healed ;  he  casts  his  mantle  on  us,  and  we 

*  Lex  dicit,  Fac  hoc ;  et  nunquam  fit.  Gratia  dicit,  Crede  in 
hunc ;  et  jam  facta  sunt  omnia. 


90  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

are  clothed;  he  is  the  glorious  Saviour,  blessed  for 
ever," — could  not  long  continue  a  Romanist.  In  fact, 
he  repeated  with  firmness,  that  every  Christian  who 
truly  repented  had  remission  of  sins  without  any  in- 
dulgence ;  that  the  pope  could  only  do  what  might  be 
done  by  the  lowest  priest, — declare  the  forgiveness 
that  God  had  already  granted ;  that  the  treasury  of  the 
merits  of  saints  was  a  pure  fiction;  and  that  Holy 
Scripture  was  the  sole  rule  of  faith. 

Still  fearing  to  act  wrong,  on  the  30th  of  May  he 
wrote  to  the  pope.  In  this  letter  he  adverts  to  the 
demoralized  state  of  the  church,  the  fearful  effects  of 
the  sale  of  indulgences,  and  his  own  part  in  the  con- 
troversy. He  speaks  of  himself  as  maintaining  the 
nonour  of  the  church,  not  as  promoting  heresy.  "  I 
cannot  retract  what  I  have  said,"  was  still  his  language  ; 
but  he  nevertheless  most  pathetically  appeals  to  Leo, 
and  calls  on  him  to  decide  in  the  fear  of  God.  "  Where- 
fore, most  blessed  father,  I  present  myself  prostrate  at 
the  feet  of  your  blessedness,  with  all  that  I  am  and 
have  :  vivify,  slay  ;  call,  recall ;  approve,  condemn,  as 
it  may  please  you.  I  will  acknowledge  your  voice  as 
that  of  Christ  presiding  and  speaking  in  you.  If  I 
have  merited  death,  I  will  not  refuse  to  die." 

This  submissive  language,  however,  was  of  no  avail. 
Already  had  attempts  been  made  to  deprive  him  of  the 
favour  and  protection  of  Duke  Frederic  ;  and  pending 
the  consideration  of  the  remonstrances  which  he  had 
addressed  in  his  own  defence  to  Leo,  a  weightier  in- 
fluence had  been  busy  in  fomenting  the  Papal  wrath 
against  him.  The  emperor  Maximilian,  a  monarch 
not  at  all  conspicuous  either  for  his  virtues  or  abilities, 
but  yet  generally  good-humoured  and  easy,  began  to 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  91 

take  alarm  at  the  rapid  spread  of  the  Lutheran,  innova- 
tions in  various  parts  of  his  dominions.  He  had  been, 
indeed,  one  of  the  most  zealous  instigators  in  the  pope's 
interposition ;  and  now  stimulated  him  to  the  adoption 
of  harsher  processes.  In  a  strain  of  fierce  and  blun- 
dering invective,  this  prince  took  occasion  to  denounce 
Luther  and  his  supporters,  in  the  diet  of  the  empire, 
which  was  holden  at  Augsburg  in  the  summer  of  1518  ; 
and  on  the  7th  of  August  he  was  served  with  a  citation 
to  appear,  within  sixty  days,  at  Rome,  there  to  defend 
himself  from  the  charges  that  were  laid  against  him. 
The  bishop  of  Ascula,  Girolamo  de  Genutiis,  by  whom, 
in  his  capacity  of  auditor  of  the  chamber,  the  summons 
had  been  executed,  was  further  instructed  earnestly  to 
exhort  the  elector  Frederic  to  maintain  inviolate  his 
allegiance  to  the  church,  and  to  afford  no  countenance 
to  one  who  was  at  least  most  seriously  suspected  of 
heresy. 

Impatient  for  the  extirpation  of  the  liberal  notions 
which,  emanating  from  Wittenberg,  were  fast  scatter- 
ing themselves  through  the  empire,  Maximilian  now 
despatched  a  missive  to  Leo,  prompting  him  to  pro- 
ceed with  greater  vigour  in  the  cause,  and  engaging  to 
see  carried  into  effect,  so  far  as  his  own  power  ex- 
tended, whatever  severities  the  pope,  in  his  wisdom, 
might  be  pleased  to  authorize.  On  the  receipt  of  the 
emperor's  epistle,  Leo,  regardless  of  the  sixty  days 
allowed  for  Luther's  appearance  to  the  previous  cita- 
tion, immediately  directed  his  legate  at  the  imperial 
court,  Thomas  de  Vio,  cardinal  of  Gaeta,  to  cite  the 
refractory  monk  of  Wittenberg  before  him  ;  and,  should 
he  persist  in  his  heresies,  to  detain  him  prisoner  until 
further  orders.     To  complete  the  scandal  of  this  pro- 


92  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

ceeding,  two  of  the  bitterest  of  Luther's  adversaries 
were  nominated  to  the  duty  of  hearing  his  defence, 
Silvester  de  Prierias  and  the  bishop  of  Ascula.  •  To 
have  obeyed  the  mandate  which  required  him  to  plead 
before  a  tribunal  so  iniquitously  constituted,  would  have 
been  to  imperil,  in  his  own  person,  the  cause  of  reli- 
gious truth.  Availing  himself,  therefore,  of  the  irregu- 
larity of  the  second  citation,  he  represented  to  the  pope 
the  manifest  injustice  of  the  proposed  form  of  trial ; 
complaining,  too,  of  the  hardship  of  abridging  the  time 
for  preparation  permitted  to  him  by  the  original  sum- 
mons to  Rome.  This  expostulation,  backed  as  it  was 
by  the  prayer  of  the  University  of  Wittenberg,  and  the 
personal  interest  of  the  elector,  who  contended  that  it 
was  the  ascertained  privilege  of  the  German  states  to 
have  all  questions  of  ecclesiastical  subjection  tried  on 
their  own  soil,  so  far  succeeded  as  to  induce  Leo  X.  to 
waive  the  two  former  citations,  and  issue  a  third,  com- 
manding Luther  to  repair  to  Augsburg,  to  be  there 
heard  before  the  cardinal  of  Gaeta.  To  that  city,  a 
place  memorable  for  the  conference  that  was  now  at 
hand,  and  doubly  illustrated  by  the  famous  confession, 
of  which,  a  few  years  later,  it  witnessed  the  solemn 
publication,  did  Luther  journey  on  foot,  in  solitude  and 
poverty.  The  world  saw,  in  this  meeting,  onl^the 
arraignment  of  an  obscure,  presumptuous,  and  enthusi- 
astic priest  before  the  delegate  of  the  highest  authority 
on  earth ;  and  little  did  the  Papal  minister  imagine,  as 
he  entered  Augsburg,  with  all  the  pomp  and  circum- 
stance appropriate  to  his  mission  and  official  dignity, 
amid  the  reverent  greetings  of  the  civil  powers,  that 
the  coming  investigation  was  to  be,  in  effect,  only  the 
first  act  in  the  public  crimination  of  the  superb  and 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  93 

tyrannous  hierarchy  of  which  he  was  the  occasional 
representative ;  or  that  the  various  grandeur  which 
surrounded  him  was  but  prophetic  of  the  approaching 
sunset  and  final  declension  of  the  spiritual  despotism 
of  Rome.  But  upon  both  parties  was  there  an  eyev 
fixed,  which  seeth  not  as  men  see  ;  a  power  overruling 
the  event,  which  had  decreed  that  the  humble  and 
poor  should  be  exalted,  and  the  lofty  brought  down  to 
the  dust.  v 


94  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  cardinal  of  Gaeta,  usually  known  in  history  as 
Cardinal  Cajetan,  was  one  of  the  most  respectable  of 
the  ecclesiastics  who  were  prominently  engaged  in 
opposition  to  the  inchoate  Reformation.  He  was  able 
to  conduct  himself  with  great  kindness  and  courtesy 
of  manner ;  but  he  was  known  to  be  most  thoroughly 
devoted  to  all  the  claims  of  the  Roman  court,  as  well 
as  to  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Roman  Church,  in  those 
grosser  forms  in  which  they  were  then  generally  re- 
ceived. His  instructions  were  to  bring  Luther  to 
recantation,  if  it  were  possible ;  but,  if  he  continued 
obstinate,  to  keep  him  in  safe  custody  till  he  could  pre- 
sent him  for  trial  before  a  Roman  tribunal,  in  the  eccle- 
siastical metropolis  itself.  Luther  had  heard  some 
reports  of  this,  but  he  was  not  deterred  by  them  from 
proceeding.  Stopping  at  Nuremberg,  on  his  way  to 
Augsburg,  while  some  encouraged  him,  others,  alarmed 
on  his  account,  wished  him  to  turn  back.  In  a  letter 
which  he  wrote  while  tarrying  at  Nuremberg  for  a 
brief  space,  he  not  only  shows  his  unconquerable  re- 
solution, but  the  source  from  which  his  courage  and 
strength  were  derived.  "  I  have  found,"  he  says, 
"  certain  persons  very  fearful  on  my  account,  who  en- 
deavour to  persuade  me  not  to  go  on  to  Augsburg.  But 
I  continue  fixed.  Let  the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done. 
Even  at  Augsburg,  and  in  the  very  midst  of  his  enemies, 
Jesus  Christ  reigns.  Let  Christ  live,  and  Martin,  and 
any  other  sinner,  die ;  as  it  is  written,  Exalted  be  the 
God  of  my  salvation.    Farewell.    Persevere  standing ; 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  95 

for  cither  by  God  or  by  men  we  must  certainly  be  re- 
jected. But  God  is  true,  and  man  a  liar."*  Thus 
early  did  he  take  his  ground  as  a  man  of  one  object, 
one  aim,  one  care.  Whatever  became  of  himself,  all 
his  desire  was  that  the  name  of  God  might  be  honoured, 
and  the  truth  of  Christ  triumphantly  spread.  He  might 
be  warm  from  natural  temperament,  but  he  was  courage- 
ous from  principle.  His  friends,  however,  would  not 
allow  him  to  appear  before  Cajetan  till  he  had  obtained 
an  ample  safe-conduct  for  going  and  returning  :  the 
infamous  quibble  in  the  case  of  Huss  was  not  forgotten. 
In  the  mean  time,  while  waiting  for  the  necessary 
document,  one  of  the  Italians  called  on  him,  and  ap- 
peared anxious  that  he  should  at  once  and  privately 
wait  upon  the  cardinal ;  but  Luther,  happily,  allowed 
himself  to  be  governed  by  his  advisers. 

The  safe-conduct  being  received,  Luther  presented 
himself  before  Cajetan  ;  and,  according  to  established 
etiquette,  not  only  knelt,  but  literally  prostrated  him- 
self before  him ;  continuing  thus  till  he  was  bid  to  rise. 
The  cardinal  was  courteous,  but  decided.  Luther  was 
to  retract.  But  he  understood  not  the  man.  Courte- 
ously, but  with  equal  decision,  the  monk  required  the 
cardinal  to  show  him  wherein  he  had  erred.     In  reply, 

*  Homines  aliquot  pusillanimes  in  mea  causa  inveni,  ita  ut 
me  tentare  quoque  cceperint,  ne  adirem  Augustam.  Verum  ego 
persto  fixus.  Fiat  voluntas  Domini.  Etiam  Augusts,  etiam  in 
medio  inimicorum  suorum,  dominatur  Jesus  Christus.  Vivat 
Christus;  moriatur  Martinus,  et  omnis  peccator,  sicut  scriptum 
est,  Exaltetur  autem  Deus  salutis  meae.  Valete  bene,  et  perse- 
verate  stantes ;  quia  necesse  est  vel  ab  hominibus  vel  a  Deo  repro- 
bari.  Sed  est  Deus  verax,  homo  autem  mendax. — Weismann 
quotes  this  letter  as  having  himself  read  it  in  MS.  Hist.  Sac. 
N.  T.,  sec.  xvi,  §  44,  vii.  3. 


96  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

he  was  told  that  he  must  retract  these  two  proposi- 
tions : — "  The  treasure  of  indulgences  does  not  consist 
of  the  merits  and  sufferings  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
— The  man  who  receives  the  holy  sacrament  must 
have  faith  in  the  grace  offered  him."  The  parties 
were  now  completely  at  issue.  "You  are  wrong," 
said  Cajetan,  "  and  must  recant."  "  Prove  that  I  am 
wrong,  and  I  will,"  said  the  undaunted  professor  of 
Wittenberg.  Several  interviews  took  place,  in  which, 
at  first,  Cajetan  thought  to  secure  an  easy  victory  by 
repeating  the  usual  Papal  common-places  in  support 
of  the  subjects  in  debate,  but  he  was  utterly  unprepared 
for  Luther's  appeal  to  the  word  of  God.  Unable  to  fix 
mistake  on  a  single  proposition,  he  laid  aside  the  con- 
troversialist, and  assumed  the  tone  of  the  superior  and 
judge.  He  lost  his  temper,  threatened  to  send  Luther 
to  Rome,  and  abruptly  terminated  the  discourse  by  for- 
bidding Luther  to  appear  in  his  presence  again,  unless 
he  were  prepared  fully  to  abandon  his  errors. 

This,  perhaps,  was  one  of  the  most  critical  periods 
of  the  Reformation.  Luther  was  not  yet  well-informed 
on  many  subjects  with  which  he  subsequently  became 
acquainted.  His  respect  for  the  pope,  in  regard  to  his 
office,  was  high,  and  his  desire  of  peace  strong.  He 
was  willing  to  make  any  concessions  that  did  not  in- 
volve the  truth  which  he  knew  and  felt  that  he  had 
embraced.  It  is  important,  to  the  right  explanation  of 
some  of  his  proceedings  while  at  Augsburg,  that  the 
actual  state  of  his  mind  be  understood.  He  was  ac- 
customed to  acknowledge  that  he  "  did  not  learn  all  his 
divinity  at  once,  but  was  constrained  to  sink  deeper 
and  deeper ;"  and  among  the  subjects  thus  only  gra- 
dually perceived,  the  supremacy  of  the  Roman  see  was 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  97 

one.  "  The  pope  said,  ■  Although  Christ  be  the  head 
of  the  church,  yet,  notwithstanding,  there  must  be  a 
visible  and  corporeal  head  of  the  church  on  earth.' 
With  this  I  could  have  been  well  content,  in  case  he 

HAD  BUT  TAUGHT  THE  GOSPEL  PURELY  AND  CLEARLY, 

and  had  not  brought  forward  human  inventions  and  lies 
instead  thereof."*  Luther's  first  object  was  the  truth 
of  the  gospel, — the  truth  by  which  men  are  to  be 
saved, — evangelical  truth.  Could  this  have  been 
secured,  he  would  never  have  thought  of  assailing  the 
Papal  monarchy. 

Cajetan,  when  Luther  had  departed,  felt  dissatisfied 
with  himself.  Instead  of  persuading  Luther  to  recant, 
he  had  made  him  a  more  determined  opponent ;  and  he 
had  allowed  him  to  escape  from  his  power,  without 
being  able  to  induce  him  to  undertake  a  journey  to 
Rome.  He  sent,  therefore,  for  Staupitz,  the  friend  of 
Leo,  and  the  head  of  his  order,  and  begged  him  to  use 
his  utmost  influence  to  persuade  him  to  submit.  Stau- 
pitz, with  others,  advised  Luther  to  make  some  con- 
cessions ;  and  thus  persuaded,  on  the  17th  of  October, 
soon  after  the  final  interview,  he  wrote  to  Cajetan  in 
very  submissive  terms,  retracting  all  roughnesses  of 
expression,  referring  all  matters  to  the  pope,  and  offer- 
ing to  be  silent,  provided  silence  on  the  other  side  was 
observed  also.  Speaking  of  those  days,  in  after-life, 
he  said,  "  If  the  cardinal  had  handled  me  with  more 
discretion  at  Augsburg,  and  had  dealt  kindly  with  me 
when  I  fell  at  his  feet,  then  it  had  never  come  thus 
far  ;  for  at  that  time  I  saw  very  few  of  the  pope's  errors 
which  now  I  see.  Had  he  been  silent,  so  had  I  pro- 
bably held  my  peace."! 

*  Table-talk.  t  Table-talk. 

5 


98  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

To  this  submissive  letter  Cajetan  sent  no  reply.  It 
contained  no  retractation,  and  nothing  short  of  this 
would  he  accept.  Luther,  therefore,  not  feeling  him- 
self any  longer  safe  at  Augsburg,  drew  up  an  appeal 
from  the  pope  ill-informed,  to  the  pope  better-informed  : 
and  early  in  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  October  he 
left  the  city,  on  a  horse  which  had  been  prepared  for 
him,  and  returned  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  Wittenberg. 

Cajetan  now  wrote  to  the  elector  Frederic,  claiming 
the  victory  in  the  discussions  that  had  taken  place,  and 
calling  on  the  duke  either  to  send  the  refractory  monk 
a  prisoner  to  Rome,  or  at  least  to  banish  him  from  the 
ducal  territories.  Frederic  would  do  neither.  As  yet 
he  knew  little  or  nothing  of  Luther's  doctrines  ;  but  he 
knew  his  virtues  and  reputation,  and  he  saw  how  great 
were  the  benefits  he  had  conferred  on  the  recently- 
founded  university.  Frederic  knew,  too,  the  griev- 
ances under  which  Germany  laboured  and  groaned 
through  the  Papal  administration,  and  its  tyrannous 
rapacity.  He  contented  himself,  therefore,  with  a 
reply  in  general  terms,  amounting  to  what  Luther  had 
so  repeatedly  declared :  "  Prove  the  errors  which  you 
allege." 

Matters  now  proceeded  more  rapidly,  and  all  in  one 
direction.  In  November  Leo  published  an  edict,  not, 
indeed,  mentioning  Luther's  name,  but  deciding  what 
may  be  termed  the  indulgence  question ;  re-asserting 
all  that  had  been  claimed,  and  all  that  Luther  had  con- 
troverted. The  pope  was  thus  gradually  drawing  the 
attention  of  the  reformer  to  ulterior  questions.  In  the 
same  month  he  solemnly  and  formally  appealed  from 
the  decisions  of  the  pope  to  a  general  council,  the 
representative  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  the  pope's 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  99 

superior.  And  thus  closed  the  year  1518.  Much  light 
had  been  diffused  through  Germany  on  the  agitated 
questions,  and  very  many  were  the  admirers  of  the 
professor  of  Wittenberg.  Esteemed  and  beloved  by 
the  students  and  officers  of  the  university,  of  which 
he  was  a  principal  light  and  ornament,  his  most  stre- 
nuous efforts  were  directed,  and  not  unsuccessfully,  to 
the  advancement  of  divine  truth.  And  in  this  work  he 
was  aided  by  one,  then  little  more  than  a  youth,  who 
became  subsequently  one  of  his  most  valuable  coad- 
jutors in  the  work  of  reformation,  and  whose  name, 
only  second  to  his  own,  seems  naturally  to  occur  in 
connection  with  it.  Born  at  Bretten,  in  the  Palatinate, 
in  1497,  Philip  Schwarzerd  had  clearly  established 
his  character  as  a  scholar.  In  1514  he  was  made 
doctor;  and  in  1518,  the  University  of  Wittenberg, 
having  for  its  professor  of  divinity  Doctor  Martin 
Luther,  had  for  its  professor  of  ancient  languages  a 
youth  little  more  than  twenty-one  years  of  age,  pleasing 
in  appearance,  but  diminutive  in  person,  that  young 
man  being  Philip  Melancthon. 


100  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


When  the  year  1519  opened,  all  things  appeared  to 
threaten  the  unflinching  reformer  with  an  unfavourable 
crisis.  Leo  had  decided  the  question  of  indulgences 
against  him  ;  and  as  he  had  been  prompted  to  inter- 
ference by  the  emperor  himself,  it  was  not  likely  that 
the  secular  power  would  refuse  its  aid  to  the  ecclesi- 
astical. Frederic,  too,  though  aware  of  Luther's  value, 
and  most  affectionately  disposed  toward  him,  had  not 
yet  examined  the  religious  part  of  the  question  so  as  to 
have  his  own  conscience  engaged  on  the  side  of  these 
innovations,  as  they  were  described  by  their  opponents ; 
nor  was  it  to  be  expected  that  a  single  elector  should 
undertake  to  resist  the  forces  of  the  whole  empire. 

But  He,  who  is  as  wonderful  in  counsel  as  he  is 
mighty  in  working,  so  ordered  and  overruled  the  course 
of  events,  that  the  occurrences  of  the  next  few  months 
visibly  served  the  cause,  the  extinction  of  which  just 
before  had  appeared  all  but  certain.  Toward  the  close 
of  the  year  1518,  the  declining  health  of  Maximilian 
set  on  foot  a  multitude  of  intrigues,  in  various  quarters, 
having  for  their  object  to  ensure  the  election  of  some 
favoured  competitor  for  the  imperial  crown.  Pending 
the  fermentation  consequent  on  these  negotiations,  ard 
the  busy  outlook  for  the  conservation  of  its  own  inter- 
ests by  the  Roman  hierarchy,  Luther's  contumacy  was 
suffered  to  remain  unnoticed.  The  interval  was  not 
lost  to  the  reformers.  Availing  themselves  of  the  mo- 
mentary abeyance  of  the  vigilant  malignity  of  their 
adversary,  they  spared  no  effort  to  scatter  far  and  wide 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHLR. 


101 


a  knowledge  of  their  arguments  and  doctrines.  The 
emperor's  death,  which  occurred  in  February,  1519, 
devolved  a  temporary  and  vicarial  supremacy  upon  the 
elector  Frederic,  under  whose  friendly  and  liberal 
administration  the  Lutheran  opinions  gained  converts 
daily  Magnanimously  declining  for  himself  the  prof- 
fered throne,  Frederic  threw  his  influence  with  the 
electoral  body  into  the  scale  opposed  to  the  pretensions 
of  the  French  monarch,  Francis ;  and,  by  thus  pro- 
curing the  preference  of  his  illustrious  rival,  established 
an  effectual  and  peculiar  interest  in  the  councils  of  the 
successful  candidate.  Upon  the  elevation  of  Charles 
V.,  both  of  the  contending  parties  in  the  great  religious 
struggle  were  alike  and  naturally  solicitous  to  propi- 
tiate his  countenance.  The  pope,  indeed,  affected  to 
have  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  securing  his  nomina- 
tion, and  on  the  credit  of  this  pretended  service  founded 
a  claim  to  the  cordial  co-operation  of  the  new  emperor 
in  crushing  the  spiritual  insurrection  which  had  sprung 
up  at  Wittenberg.  Some  misgiving  of  the  policy  of 
his  last  decretal,  mixed,  perhaps,  with  an  anticipation 
of  adverse  promptings  on  the  part  of  the  prince  elector, 
who  was  known  to  stand  high  in  the  imperial  regard, 
seem,  nevertheless,  to  have  awakened  Leo  to  the  pru- 
dence of  again  trying  what  the  intervention  of  a  saga- 
cious and  more  temperate  mediator  could  accomplish 
toward  a  reconciliation  of  the  difference  with  Luther. 
With  this  view  he  selected,  as  his  legate  extraordinary, 
for  the  settlement  of  the  questions  recently  and  still  in 
agitation,  Charles,  Count  Miltitz,  a  Saxon  nobleman, 
who,  having  served  for  some  years  as  a  soldier  of  the 
church,  had  been  subsequently  raised  to  the  dignities 
of  councillor  and  apostolic  chamberlain.     Upon  the 


102  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

various  accomplishments  and  diplomatic  address  of  his 
ambassador  Leo  appears  to  have  relied  with  confidence, 
for  the  speedy  and  amicable  adjustment  of  the  unusual 
kind  of  warfare  in  which  he  was  involved ;  while  he 
trusted  that  the  distinguished  reputation  and  Saxon 
birth  of  Miltitz  would  bespeak  a  favourable  predisposi- 
tion in  the  elector  toward  himself  and  his  projects, 
and  influence  the  reforming  party  to  comply  with  his 
demands,  by  abandoning  their  obnoxious  principles. 
Another  circumstance,  which  was  not  unlikely  to  ren- 
der the  new  emissary  peculiarly  acceptable  to  that 
party,  was  the  intercession  which,  at  the  request  of 
the  University  of  Wittenberg,  he  had  previously  used 
to  obtain  for  Luther  a  hearing  within  the  German  ter- 
ritory. It  is,  moreover,  not  improbable  that  among  the 
motives  which  prompted  the  choice  of  a  civil  negotiator 
in  preference  to  a  churchman,  was  a  hope  of  thereby 
evading  those  interminable  subtleties  and  disputations 
in  which  an  ecclesiastical  nuncio  would  have  been 
sure  to  get  entangled,  to  the  imminent  hazard  of  widen- 
ing the  breach,  and  still  further  exacerbating  the  temper 
of  the  recusants.  That  in  this  arrangement  there  is 
evidence  of  the  native  and  indolent  lenity  of  Leo's 
character,  and  of  considerable  reluctance  to  be  hurling 
at  his  humble  opponent  the  thunders  of  the  spiritual 
power,  we  have  no  wish  to  insinuate  a  doubt ;  but  we 
think  we  see  in  it,  at  the  same  time,  no  unequivocal 
indications  of  that  shrinking  from  the  test  of  argument, 
investigation,  and  publicity,  which  is  the  sure  attend- 
ant and  betrayer  of  every  form  of  tyranny. 

Among  the  solemn  fooleries  of  the  palmy  days  of 
the  pontificate,  was  a  custom  (which,  for  aught  we 
know,  may  have  survived  the  wreck  of  the  Roman 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  103 

Church's  grandeur)  of  annually  presenting  to  some 
eminent  personage  a  consecrated  rose,  as  a  token  of 
the  pope's  particular  esteem.  Of  this  signal  mark  of 
favour,  Frederic  was  understood,  or  rather  was  pre- 
sumed, to  be  ambitious  ;  though,  in  all  probability,  there 
were  few  men  in  Europe  who  less  cared  to  accept  it. 
To  him,  therefore,  did  Leo  this  year  commission  his 
native  subject,  the  count  Miltitz,  to  carry  the  sacred 
bauble,  together  with  an  epistolary  commendation  of 
its  prescriptive  value,  as  a  symbol  of  the  especial 
favour  of  the  church,  and  a  strenuous  exhortation  to 
promote  the  satisfactory  discharge  of  the  mission  of 
the  bearer.  The  envoy's  reception  at  the  electoral 
court  was  anything  but  auspicious.  The  consecrated 
trifle,  for  which  time  had  been  when  kings  would  have 
contended  almost  to  the  death,  Frederic  declined  to 
undergo  the  usual  ceremony  of  publicly  receiving,  and 
requested  that  it  might  be  delivered  to  one  of  the  offi- 
cers of  his  household  to  be  conveyed  to  him.  Nor 
did  the  high  recommendations  which  the  Papal  nuncio 
brought  with  him  to  Pfeffinger  and  Spalatin,  two  of  the 
prince's  ministers,  and  both  friends  of  Luther,  avail  to 
remove  the  distrust  of  the  pope's  intentions,  which  the 
last  exorbitant  and  ill-judged  proclamation  had  aroused. 
To  the  expostulations  and  attempts  of  Miltitz  to  enlist 
him  on  the  side  of  the  church,  Frederic  listened  with 
evident  disinclination ;  and  at  last  replied,  as  coldly  as 
decidedly,  that  he  would  be  no  party  to  the  oppression 
of  a  man  whom  he  had  heretofore  considered  blameless. 
Thus  foiled  in  what  was  really,  though  not  ostensibly, 
the  primary  purpose  of  his  embassy,  to  wean  the  elector 
from  his  suspected  predilection  for  the  Lutheran  cause, 
Miltitz  saw  that  the  only  chance  of  winning  back  the 


104  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

protesting  champion  to  his  ancient  allegiance,  lay  in  the 
dubious  practicability  of  persuading  him  to  lend  an  ear 
to  the  covert  concessions  and  pacific  overtures  of  Leo. 
Accordingly  he  sought,  and,  not  without  difficulty,  (for 
Luther  had  by  this  time  armed  and  made  up  his  mind 
to  the  struggle  which  he  deemed  to  be  inevitable,)  at 
last  gained  admittance  to  a  personal  interview  at  Al- 
tenberg.  Conformably  to  his  instructions,  he  abstained 
from  all  approach  to  the  debate  of  theological  points, 
and  confined  his  endeavours  to  the  single  object  of 
persuading  Luther  to  desist  from  his  vehement  oppug- 
nance  to  the  see  of  Rome.  Admitting,  and  professing 
to  deplore,  the  numerous  abuses  which  had  flowed 
from  the  publication  of  the  indulgences,  he  even  went 
so  far  as  to  summon  before  him  Tetzel,  the  original 
provoker  of  the  whole  series  of  discords  that  for  three 
years  had  disturbed  the  public  peace,  and  so  severely 
reprehended  him  for  his  past  virulence  and  misconduct, 
that  the  unhappy  Dominican  is  said  to  have  soon 
afterward  died  of  an  illness  occasioned  by  his  vexation 
and  alarm  at  the  threats  and  reproaches  which  were 
heaped  upon  him.*  Count  Miltitz  and  the  reformer 
met  again  in  the  castle  of  Liebenwer,  and  a  third  time 
at  Lichtenberg ;  when  the  sagacity  and  earnest  en- 
treaties of  the  former  at  length  prevailed  on  Luther 
once  more  to  address  the  pope  in  a  strain  of  great 

*  It  should  not  be  omitted,  that  Luther  wrote  to  Tetzel,  as 
soon  as  he  heard  of  his  sickness,  offering  him  a  frank  oblivion  of 
their  former  quarrel,  and  expressing  his  regret  for  any  asperities 
of  language  which  he  might  have  used.  At  the  same  time,  he 
exhorted  his  old,  but  now  fallen,  antagonist  to  keep  up  his  spirits, 
and  especially  to  fear  nothing  from  the  writer's  resentment. 
Tetzel,  however,  did  not  live  to  acknowledge  or  repay  the  hon- 
ourable kindness  of  his  opponent. 


** 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  105 


humility ;  supplicating  pardon  for  trie  irreverence  and 
irascibility  which  he  was  thought  to  have  exhibited 
before ;  deprecating  any  needless  disturbance  of  the 
peace  of  the  church,  and  binding  himself  to  refrain 
from  subsequent  disputation  on  the  subject  of  indul- 
gences, provided  that  his  opponents  also  should  be,  on 
their  side,  compelled  to  cease  from  dicussion,  and  that 
it  should  be  understood  that  the  church  was  not  respon- 
sible for  their  actions.  Luther  was  still  anxious  to  pre- 
serve the  visible  unity  of  the  church,  and  did  not  as 
yet  see  how  deeply  the  fundamental  errors  which  he 
attacked  had  penetrated.  His  letter  to  Leo  (written  in 
March,  1519,)  is  rather  deprecatory  than  refractory :  it 
afforded,  however,  ground  for  reconciliation,  had  his 
opponents  been  willing  to  be  silent.  But  as  they  were 
resolved  to  concede  nothing,  so  Luther  was  led  to  ex- 
amine everything ;  and  he  thus  discovered  errors  and 
corruptions  where,  even  when  at  an  earlier  period  he 
saw  mistakes,  he  was  willing  to  believe  them  to  be  only 
venial  ones. 

But  what  a  conscious  humiliation,  and  defect  of  moral 
strength,  must  a  few  months  of  study  and  eloquent  re- 
sistence  have  wrought  in  the  secret  heart  of  the  mag- 
nificent and  haughty  Leo,  when  stipulations  such  as 
these  could  be  proposed  to  him,  under  the  implied 
sanction  of  his  own  representative,  as  indispensable 
preliminaries  to  the  capitulation  of  a  disobedient  friar, 
too  poor  to  purchase  a  surplice,*  and  residing  in  a  re- 
mote province  of  his  spiritual  empire  ! 

*  For  within  a  few  weeks  from  this  period,  we  find  him  request- 
ing the  elector  to  provide  him  with  two,  a  white  and  a  black 
one,  to  enable  him  to  make  a  decent  appearance  at  Leipsic ;  he 
being  destitute  of  the  means  of  buying  them. 
5* 


106  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

The  pope,  however,  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  re- 
ject even  these  provisional  submissions  from  a  man  in 
whose  invincible  fortitude  and  energy  of  character, 
surrounded  as  he  was  by  an  applauding  circle  of  able 
and  devoted  friends,  were  visible  the  seeds  of  a  much 
larger  and  more  aggressive  enmity  than  it  was  at  all 
desirable  to  invite.  The  mild  and  approving  tone  of 
Leo's  reply  encouraged  the  hopes  of  Miltitz  that,  by 
Iris  mediation,  would  at  last  be  effected  the  conclusion 
of  those  feuds  which  had  so  long  vexed  the  general 
repose  of  Christendom.  But  events  were  in  progress 
which  tended  to  precipitate  the  crisis,  and  to  extinguish 
those  hopes  for  ever. 

Carlostadt,  archdeacon  of  the  cathedral  at  Witten- 
berg, (whose  real  name  was  Andrew  Bodenstein,) 
having  published  a  thesis  in  defence  of  the  opinions 
maintained  by  Luther,  had  again  called  into  the  field 
of  polemical  battle  the  learned  and  astute,  but  intempe- 
rate and  vindictive,  Doctor  John  Eccius,  or  Eck.  Af- 
ter expending  on  each  other  the  customary  amenities 
of  theological  strife,  it  was  ultimately  agreed  between 
the  combatants  that  they  should  meet  in  the  city  of 
Leipsic,  to  decide  the  controversy  by  oral  disputation, 
in  presence  of  George,  duke  of  Saxony,  uncle  to 
the  elector  Frederic,  and  other  illustrious  personages  ; 
Hoffmann,  the  principal  of  the  University  of  Leipsic, 
being,  by  mutual  consent,  elected  to  sit  as  umpire.  As 
the  duke,  on  the  first  application  to  him  for  that  pur- 
pose, declined  to  permit  Luther  to  take  an  active  part 
in  the  debate,  he  tells  us  that  he  expected  to  have  been 
only  a  spectator.  But  to  have  suffered  him  to  remain 
silent  would  have  frustrated  the  great  object  of  the 
challenge  ;  a  challenge  which  indeed  had  been  thrown 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHEP..        -  107 

out  by  Eck,  in  the  expectation  that,  by  it,  he  should 
gain  incidentally  an  opportunity  of  engaging  Luther, 
and  winning  to  his  own  merits  the  grateful  attention  of 
the  pontifical  court.  Eck  therefore  made  it  his  busi- 
ness to  procure  for  him  a  license  similar  to  that  which 
had  been  previously  extended  to  Carlostadt ;  and  Lu- 
ther was  not  the  man  to  balk  the  pugnacity  of  an 
assailant,  whose  eminent  talents  were  eclipsed  only  by 
the  fanatical  remorselessness  of  his  intolerance,  and 
the  frantic  vehemences  of  his  temper. 

Few  passages  in  Luther's  life  have  been  more  com- 
monly misconstrued  than  his  sentiments  and  conduct 
on  the  occasion  of  this  far-famed  dispute.  It  has  been 
taken  for  granted  that,  equally  with  Carlostadt,  who 
was  his  friend  and  follower,  he  stood  pledged  to  pre- 
cisely the  same  propositions  which  the  latter  upheld 
against  the  attacks  of  Eck.  But  the  fact  is,  that  the 
argument  between  those  persons  was  expressly  con- 
fined to  a  single  issue,  relating  to  the  freedom  of  the 
human  will.  The  limitation  of  their  mutual  reasoning 
to  this  particular  and  exclusive  topic  had  been  pre- 
arranged by  the  conflicting  parties  before  Luther  could 
have  had  any  thought  of  being  personally  drawn  into 
the  arena.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  too,  that  neither 
had  the  two  reforming  divines  been  both  included  in 
the  original  challenge,  nor  did  Luther  attempt  to  inter- 
fere in  any  way  with  the  contest,  which  lasted  for  six 
days,  on  the  old  and  much-vexed  problem  of  the  moral 
liberty  of  mankind.  It  was  not  until  that  contest  had 
closed  that  he  opposed  himself  to  the  Romanist  advo- 
cate ;  and  then  it  will  be  found  that  the  subjects  to 
which  he  addressed  his  discourse  were  widely  differ- 
ent from  the  abstruse  perplexities  of  the  antecedent 


108  .       LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

question.  We  lay  peculiar  stress  upon  these  circum- 
stances, because  we  have  been  at  some  pains  to  satisfy 
ourselves  that,  up  to  the  date  of  the  Leipsic  contro- 
versy, Luther  had  never  been  committed  to  the  predes- 
tinarian  creed.  It  is  very  generally  supposed  that  in 
the  former  part  of  his  career,  as  in  the  latter  and  soli- 
1ary  instance  of  his  grand  dispute  with  Erasmus,  the 
father  of  the  Reformation  leaned  to  the  faith  of  Augus- 
tine, respecting  the  divine  decrees ;  a  supposition 
which  has  not  unnaturally  arisen  from  the  known 
determination  of  the  .early  belief  of  Melancthon,  and 
others  of  his  fellow-labourers.  That  Luther,  in  the 
outset  of  his  theological  investigations,  received  a  bias 
in  that  direction  from  the  works  of  Augustine,  is  very 
probable.  But  to  any  one  who  will  be  at  the  trouble 
to  consult  the  various  writings  of  the  reformer,  it  will 
appear  that,  even  in  those  places  which  afford  the 
most  inviting  and  appropriate  opportunities  for  intro- 
ducing the  notion  of  predestination,  he  had  hitherto 
uniformly  shrunk  from  an  avowal  of  that  dogma.  We 
have,  besides,  his  own  confession,  that  he  regarded  the 
metaphysical  subtleties  which  of  necessity  invest  the 
doctrine  as  unprofitable,  and  not  altogether  free  from 
danger ;  a  statement  that  agrees  far  better  with  his 
aboriginal  aversion  to  the  mazes  of  the  scholastic  logic, 
than  with  his  subsequent  and  short-lived  adhesion  to  a 
tenet  which,  from  that  logic,  draws  its  armour,  and 
least  vulnerable  proofs.  Nor  let  it  be  objected  to  us 
that  the  silence  of  Luther  on  this  point  infers  nothing 
against  his  alleged  approbation  of  a  sentiment  which 
was  even  then  stoutly  maintained  by  more  than  one  of 
his  adherents.  It  is  strikingly  inconsistent  with  the 
unflinching  sincerity  and  outspoken  plainness  of  his 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  109 

character,  to  assume  that,  on  a  topic  which  lay  so 
obvious,  and  which,  moreover,  might  have  so  nearly 
and  so  easily  allied  itself  to  the  very  foundations 
of  his  speculative  divinity,  he  should  have  remained 
invariably  mute,  had  he  inclined  to  the  affirmative 
view  of  the  question.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were 
many  reasons  which  might  fairly,  as  we  apprehend 
they  in  effect  did,  operate  to  prevent  the  utterance 
of  a  peremptory  denial  of  the  predestinative  scheme. 
In  the  first  place,  we  cannot  doubt  that,  in  common 
with  his  conventual  brethren,  Luther  cherished  an 
extraordinary  reverence  for  the  memory  and  teach- 
ings of  Augustine.  To  have  openly  abjured  a  doctrine, 
upon  which  a  father,  who  was  almost  their  oracle,  had 
so  strenuously  insisted  as  the  basis  of  the  Scriptural 
theory  of  justification,  would  have  been  gratuitously  to 
run  the  hazard,  by  alarming  an  amiable  prejudice,  of 
alienating  from  his  infant  councils  some  of  the  best  and 
brightest  of  his  monastic  allies.  With  Carlostadt  the 
case  was  different.  He  was  an  emeritus  disciple  of 
the  Aristotelian  metaphysic  before  he  became  a  Lu- 
theran in  religion.  His  theology  was  cast  in  the 
genuine  scholastic  mould  ;  his  reason  habitually  over- 
laid with  the  cumbrous  and  constricting  forms  of  the 
syllogistic  method, — a  method  which  to  Luther  was 
uncongenial  and  abhorrent.  It  was  like  armour  on  the 
limbs  of  a  Scythian  giant.  It  cramped  the  muscular 
play  and  robust  activity  of  his  understanding.  He  loved 
to  handle  things  without  the  intervention  of  the  scales 
of  the  gauntlet ;  to  test  them,  not  by  the  pedantic  rules 
of  artificial  demonstration,  but  by  their  impression  on 
the  natural  sensibilities  of  the  heart  and  conscience. 
Logic  with  him  was  not  the  mere  formal  art  of  com- 


110  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

birring  and  expressing  dependant  propositions,  though 
in  the  practical  uses  of  that  art  few  men  were  more 
expert,  but  a  native  and  abiding  canon  of  the  intelligent 
being.  He  knew,  in  short,  what  the  schoolmen  had  all 
along  lost  sight  of,  that  there  are  certain  truths  of  con- 
sciousness and  feeling  which  have  a  deeper  import, 
and  a  more  obligatory  sacredness,  than  belongs  to  any 
of  the  clearest  results  of  mere  ratiocination;  which 
are,  in  fact,  the  axioms  of  moral  science,  the  prelimi- 
nary data  and  conditions  of  every  form  of  human 
knowledge.* 

*  Thus,  for  example,  our  consciousness  of  being  is  a  truth  an- 
tecedent  and  superior  to  all  acquired  information.  A  mathema- 
tical axiom — for  example,  that  the  whole  is  equal  to  its  parts, 
and  vice  versa — is  propounded  to  me.  I  apprehend  its  truth. 
But  this  apprehension  presupposes  an  anterior  truth,  namely,  that 
I,  the  subject  apprehending,  exist.  But  that  truth  is  not  demon- 
strable. Why  ?  For  the  same  reason  that  neither  is  the  mutual 
equality  of  the  whole  and  its  constituent  parts  susceptible  of  de- 
monstration. It  is  a  truth  in  limine,  and  indispensable  to  other  and 
secondary  truth:  as  thus,  If  I  am  not,  then  it  is  not  true  that  I 
apprehend.  The  canon  involved  in  this  formula  is  fatal  to  the 
necessitarian  argument.  The  freedom  of  the  will  is  a  truth 
transcendental  and  preliminary,  and  necessarily  assumed  in  every 
truth  of  morals.  It  is  useless  to  dispute  about  it,  and  absurd : 
if  it  be  false,  the  very  idea  of  truth  is  a  fabrication  and  a  dream. 
But  after  all,  why  conjure  up  fantastical  personations,  and  in  our 
so-called  philosophy  represent  ourselves  to  be  made  up  of  a  collec- 
tion of  various  faculties,  which  can  only  be  dealt  with  as  so  many 
individual  and  separate  things  ?  What  do  we  mean  by  will  ? 
The  most  ordinary  form  of  speech  is  the  most  philosophically 
exact,  "/will :"  not  the  will  (that  is  a  something  which  is  not 
/,  but  only  pertaining  to  me)  wills, — but  /;  the  self,  the  man 
Upon  this  favourite  problem  of  the  schoolmen, — the  liberty  of 
the  will, — what  pages  of  elaborate  folly  have  been  given  to  the 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  Ill 

But  another  and  principal  cause  of  the  misconcep- 
tion which,  in  our  judgment,  has  obtained  in  relation 
to  the  actual  opinion  at  this  time  of  Luther,  regarding 
the  freedom  of  man's  conduct,  has  been  the  miserable 
ignorance  of  evangelical  divinity,  and  the  consequent 
inability  of  many  of  his  historians  to  comprehend  the 
real  significance  and  gist  of  his  doctrine  as  to  the  justifi- 
catory efficacy  of  faith.  It  is  truly  lamentable,  and,  we 
had  almost  said,  vexatious,  to  think  how  much  of  perverse 
misapprehension  on  this  simple  and  vital  article  of  our 
holy  religion  still  lingers  in  the  Christian  world.  Men 
will  persist  in  fancying  an  opposition  between  faith 
and  works,  and  arguing  that  to  affirm  the  exclusive 
necessity  of  the  first,  dispenses  with  the  performance 
and  the  obligation  of  the  latter.  It  might  as  wisely 
be  concluded  that  to  rear  an  oak,  you  must  not  only 
sow  the  acorn,  but  with  it  plant  the  stem,  and  into 
the  stem  graft  the  branches  ;  as  it  is  frequently  urged, 
that  besides,  and  as  a  separable  thing  fronyfaith,  there 
must  be  practical  obedience  to  the  moral  law,  in  order 

world  !  The  usual  mode  of  attempting  to  show  the  subjection, 
that  is,  the  non-existence,  of  the  will,  is  by  referring  the  instant 
determination  to  some  extraneous  motive;  about  as  circular  and 
self-destructive  an  argument  as  ever  the  genius  of  sophisms  in- 
vented. But  what  if,  in  sin,  in  all  moral  derelictions,  there  is, 
strictly  speaking,  no  will, — mere  and  absolute  negation  of  will? 
Yet  such  is  the  truth.  All  nature  moves  under  the  dominion  of 
necessity;  effect  follows  cause,  inevitably  and  continually.  Man, 
a  being  endowed  with  power,  stands  alone  amidst  the  ever- 
whirling  machinery,  to  guide  himself.  Circumstance  acts  upon 
him,  and  he  falls.  Say  you,  by  his  own  will  ?  No,  for  will  is 
action ;  and  he  acts  not.  He  is  acted  upon ;  he  submits  to  be 
impelled,  instead  of  willing  to  resist. 


112  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER; 

to  salvation.  Luther  knew  better.  He  had  learned 
not  to  put  asunder  what  God,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
had  joined  together.  By  the  deeds  of  the  law  he  held 
that  no  flesh  living  could  be  justified.  "  Good  works," 
he  observes,  "  do  not  constitute  a  good  man ;  but  a 
good,  or  justified  man,  that  is,  a  man  having  true  and 
living  faith,  necessarily  performs  good  works."  The 
stigma  of  excluding  acts  of  holiness  and  charity  from 
the  duty  of  a  Christian  believer  has  so  often  been  cast 
upon  the  doctrine  in  question,  and  so  often  and  effec- 
tually repelled,  that  it  may  seem  superfluous  to  say 
more  in  this  place,  than  that  it  can  originate  only  in 
an  utter  misconception  of  the  very  nature  and  design 
of  Christianity.  As  did  our  Saviour  himself,  and  the 
apostles,  so  Luther  taught  that  the  moral  quality  of 
every  action  of  men's  lives  depended  on  the  principle 
from  which  it  sprang,  and  the  intimate  spirit  of  the 
agent ;  that  a  mere  external  and  ostensible  compliance 
with  the  specific  precepts  of  social  morality  argued  no 
necessary  rectitude  and  purity  of  heart ;  and  that  the 
effectual  and  required  observance  of  the  law  could  be 
fulfilled  only  by  the  presence  and  operation  of  that 
catholic  love — the  love  of  God  generating  love  of  man 
— which  faith  procures,  and,  by  infusing  into  the  soul, 
hallows  and  regenerates  it.  That  this  view  naturally 
associates  itself  with  the  idea  of  the  personal  election 
of  the  saints,  involving,  as  of  necessity  that  idea  does 
involve,  the  passive  instrumentality  and  bondage  of  the 
will,  was  the  mutual  assumption  of  Carlostadt  and 
Eck.  The  Papist  disputant,  indeed,  feeling  his 
strength  upon  the  negative  side  of  the  consequence, 
was  the  more  solicitous  to  tie  his  opponent  down  to 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  113 

this  single  issue,  as  upon  it  Carlostadt  had  imprudently- 
suspended  the  decision  of  the  whole  preliminary  con- 
troversy. Both  parties  indeed  were  miserably  crip- 
pled by  the  antagonist  errors  upon  which  they  verged. 
The  assertion  by  Eck,  who  displayed  great  dialectical 
skill,  coupled  with  more  than  his  customary  eloquence, 
of  the  voluntary  co-operation  of  the  human  being  with 
divine  grace  in  every  act  of  holiness  or  virtue,  was 
vitiated  by  his  reliance  on  the  intrinsic  merit  of  good 
works :  while  Carlostadt  virtually  concluded  his  own 
refutation  of  the  alleged  efficacy  of  an  outward  and 
literal  observance  of  the  decalogue,  by  admitting  that 
his  argument  conducted  to  a  corollary  which  implied 
not  only  the  absence  of  any  meritorious  property  in  the 
legal  obedience  of  men,  but  dispensed  with  the  obliga- 
tions of  the  moral  law  altogether.  It  is  here  that  the 
radical  vice  of  the  necessitarian  theology  always  be- 
comes conspicuous  and  revolting  ;  nor  did  the  subtle 
and  prompt  genius  of  the  Romanist  doctor  fail  to  take 
advantage  of  this  vulnerable  place  in  his  adversary's 
logic.  The  result  of  this  prefatory  discussion  is 
allowed  by  most  writers  to  have  been  not  particularly 
favourable  to  Carlostadt ;  and  from  the  cautious  tone 
in  which  Luther  more  than  once  alludes  to  it,  confess- 
ing that  "  on  some  points"  Eck  was  victorious,  we  may 
gather  additional  confirmation  of  our  belief  that  he  was, 
at  the  time,  by  no  means  a  decided  advocate  of  predes- 
tination. In  truth,  we  are  disposed  to  think,  that  he 
had  not  so  far  refused  to  determine  whether  to  admit  or 
to  reject  the  notion;  and  perhaps  the  impression  left 
upon  his  judgment  by  the  controversial  speeches  of 
Eck  was,  to  some  extent,  a  type  of  the  future  and  more 


114  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

permanent  effect  of  the  powerful  reasoning  of  Erasmus. 
Certain  it  is  that,  although  the  subsequent  discourse 
of  Carlostadt  and  Melancthon  availed  to  remove  his 
doubts  for  a  while,  and  to  thrust  him  forward  into  the 
van  of  the  contest  with  that  eminent  scholar,  the  abler 
of  his  prompters  lived  to  retract  his  predestinarian 
opinions,  acknowledging  himself  convinced  by  the 
labours  of  his  illustrious  opponent, — and  Luther,  to 
direct  the  inquirer,  as  to  his  own  definitive  conviction, 
to  the  works  of  his  friend  Philip. 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  115 

CHAPTER  VII. 

At  the  time  of  the  death  of  the  emperor  Maximilian, 
the  infant  Reformation  appeared  to  be  in  imminent 
danger.  It  seemed  to  be  very  doubtful  whether  the 
duke  of  Saxony  would  be  able  any  longer  to  protect 
his  favourite  professor  against  his  now  thoroughly- 
aroused  opponents,  when  the  change  of  affairs,  produced 
by  the  vacancy  of  the  empire,  gave  to  Frederic  a  power 
which  he  before  did  not  possess,  and  at  the  same  time 
made  it  the  interest  of  Leo  to  conciliate  his  regard. 
The  threatening  storm,  therefore,  passed  away. 

After  the  conferences  with  Miltitz,  the  danger, 
though  of  a  different  kind,  was  not  less  perilous  to  the 
cause  of  truth.  To  the  question  of  indulgences,  Lu- 
ther, understanding  as  he  did  so  thoroughly  the  doc- 
trine of  justification,  was  decidedly  and  conscientiously 
opposed  ;  but  he  did  not  as  yet  clearly  perceive  the 
connection  between  the  Papal  system  and  the  corrup- 
tion which  had  overspread  the  whole  western  church. 
He  had  therefore  written  respectfully  to  Leo,  and  de- 
clared his  willingness  to  accept  of  peace  upon  terms 
which  would  have  left  all  the  roots  of  corruption  as 
firmly  fixed  in  the  soil  as  ever,  and  most  of  its  branches 
flourishing  as  visibly  as  before.  It  was  necessary 
that  Luther  should  study  questions  which  he  had 
hitherto  regarded,  to  a  considerable  degree  at  least,  as 
sacred.  He  had  glanced  at  them,  and  his  glances  had 
awakened  suspicions  which  yet  he  was  unwilling  to 
indulge.  But  the  time  was  approaching  for  him  to 
examine  the  subject  to  its  foundations,  and  thus  either 
to  verify  his  suspicions,  or  to  discard  them. 


116  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

Eck  had  challenged  Carlostadt ;  but  the  propositions 
which  he  undertook  to  defend  were  such  as  he  knew 
would  bring  Luther  (by  whom,  together  with  Melanc- 
thon,  Carlostadt  was  to  be  accompanied  to  Leipsic) 
into  the  controversial  arena.  One  of  these  asserted 
the  constant  supremacy  of  the  bishop  of  Rome  as  the 
successor  of  St.  Peter,  and  the  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Luther,  on  the  other  hand,  was  studying  the  decretals, 
and  light  was  arising  in  his  mind.  Writing  to  Spala- 
tin,  and  informing  him  of  his  studies,  he  adds  :  "  Let 
me  whisper  it  in  your  ear  :  I  know  not  whether  the 
pope  be  antichrist  himself,  or  his  apostle."*  And 
when  he  read  the  propositions  of  Eck,  he  saw  at  once 
that,  though  Carlostadt  was  mentioned,  they  were 
really  aimed  at  himself.  "  But  God  reigns,"  said  he. 
"  He  knows  what  he  designs  to  bring  out  of  this  tra- 
gedy. It  matters  little  how  it  affects  Doctor  Eck  or 
me.  The  purpose  of  God  must  be  fulfilled.  .  Thanks 
to  Eck,  this  which  has  hitherto  been  but  a  trifle,  will 
in  the  end  become  a  serious  matter,  and  strike  a  fatal 
blow  against  the  tyranny  of  Rome."  He  published, 
in  his  turn,  some  counter  propositions,  in  which  he 
asserted  the  foundations  of  the  Roman  primacy  to  be 
laid  in  the  decretals  of  the  pontiffs  themselves,  and  to 
be  without  warrant  of  Scripture.  Writing  to  the 
elector,  he  said :  "  God  knows  that  it  was  my  sincere 
intention  to  keep  silence,  and  that  I  was  rejoiced  to 
see  the  contest  brought  to  a  close.  I  was  so  scrupu- 
lous in  my  adherence  to  the  treaty  concluded  with  the 
pope's  commissary,  that  I  did  not  answer  Silvester 
Prierias,  notwithstanding  the  taunts  of  my  adversaries, 

*  Nescio  an  papa  sit  antichristus  ipse,  vel  apostolus  ejus. 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  117 

and  the  advice  of  my  friends.  But  now  Doctor  Eck 
attacks  me  ;  and  not  me  only,  but  the  whole  University 
of  Wittenberg.  I  cannot  allow  truth  to  be  thus  loaded 
with  opprobrium."  The  sword  now  drawn  was  not 
again  returned  to  its  scabbard.  Tetzel  himself,  who 
was  still  alive,  saw  from  his  retreat  to  what  this  dis- 
cussion tended.  "  It  is  the  devil,"  said  he,  "  that  is 
urging  it  on." 

The  discussion  opened  on  the  27th  of  June.  The 
ancient  hymn,  "  Veni,  Creator  Spiritus,"  was'sung  by 
both  parties  ;  and  then,  Eck  and  Carlostadt  having 
taken  their  places,  the  dispute  commenced.  The 
principal  subjects  of  debate  were  those  which  are  con- 
nected with  the  moral  agency  of  man,  and  the  influ- 
ence of  divine  grace.  The  dispute  continued  for  seve- 
ral days  ;  Eck  maintaining  the  Pelagian  view  of  the 
question,  while  his  opponent  supported  opinions  more 
conformable  to  those  of  Augustine.  In  a  verbal  discus- 
sion, chiefly  governed  by  the  rules  of  the  scholastic 
logic,  it  was  easy  for  each  to  claim  the  victory. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  Luther,  having  been  urged  to  it 
by  his  opponents,  and  having  obtained  the  consent  of 
the  duke  of  Saxony,  took  the  place  of  Carlostadt. 
The  contention  now  began  to  assume  a  more  serious 
character.  One  of  the  first  topics  debated  was  the 
supremacy  of  the  pope.  Luther,  we  have  seen,  had 
been  driven,  both  by  the  severe  denunciations  of  the 
holy  see,  and  by  the  reckless  imprudence  of  his  adver- 
saries, to  examine  the  grounds  of  that  mighty  fiction, 
and  finally  to  conclude  that  the  pre-eminence  of  the 
bishops  of  Rome  had  no  foundation  in  divine  authority. 
It  was  to  the  overthrow  of  this  proposition  that  Eck 
directed  all  the  brilliant  and  specious  artillery  of  his 


118  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

rhetoric,  and  all  the  forces  of  his  acute  and  ardent 
intellect.  But  he  had  now  to  deal  with  a  stronger  foe 
than  in  the  preceding  struggle.  Less  ingenius,  per- 
haps, and  versatile,  but  more  direct  and  simple,  as  well 
as  more  learned,  Luther  also  excelled  his  bold  and 
certainly  able  challenger  as  much  in  nerve  and  grasp 
of  understanding,  as  in  fervid  devotion  and  self-oblivious 
integrity  of  purpose.  Confident  in  his  own  resources, 
Eck  was  stimulated  to  draw  upon  them  to  the  utmost 
by  the  hope  of  some  high  ecclesiastical  reward  for  his 
prowess  in  vindication  of  the  church.  But  Luther  had 
taken  his  stand  on  ground  from  which  no  ability,  no 
power  of  sarcasm  or  vituperation  could  dislodge  him. 
With  sufficient  readiness  of  retort  to  disarm  the  sting 
of  his  antagonist's  taunts,  prompt  to  repay  insult  with 
scorn,  and  meet  irony  with  satirical  invective,  Luther's 
qualifications,  as  an  actual  debater,  were  of  the  most 
effective  description.  In  mere  eloquence,  it  was  not 
easy  to  say  which  of  the  contending  orators  deserved 
the  palm.  Eck,  we  think,  had  the  advantage  of  copi- 
ousness and  boldness,  and  perhaps  of  a  somewhat  apter 
wit ;  while  the  excellence  of  Luther's  discourse  lay  in 
its  massive  strength,  its  tone  of  fearless  sincerity,  and 
the  pregnant  simplicity  of  the  argument  which  it  de- 
veloped. The  objections  which  were  urged  by  Luther 
to  the  primacy  of  the  pope,  are  at  the  present  day 
so  familiar  to  all  Protestant  readers  as  almost  to 
preclude  them  from  duly  estimating  the  perspicacity 
and  independence  of  the  mind  which,  steadily  keeping 
in  view  the  cardinal  principles  of  Christian  polity  and 
obligation,  could  emancipate  itself  from  the  trammels 
of  a  servitude  sanctioned  by  the  universal  submission 
of  ages.     It  is  worth  remarking,  that  in  his  negation 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  119 

of  the  divine  origin  of  the  Papal  autocracy,  Luther 
gave  the  first  hint  of  a  tendency  to  the  opinion  which 
he  ultimately  adopted  relative  to  episcopal  jurisdictions 
generally,  and  in  conformity  with  which  he  discarded 
the  office,  or  rather  the  name  of  bishop  from  the  con- 
stitution of  his  own  church. 

But  it  was  not  alone  the  assumed  elevation  of  the 
Roman  pontiffs  that  came  within  the  strife  of  these  po- 
lemical wrestlers.  Among  other  and  almost  equally- 
important  subjects  commanding  their  attention,  was  the 
Popish  doctrine  of  the  purgatorial  state  of  being  after 
death  ;  upon  which  Luther  now  first  declared  that  no 
proof  of  the  existence  of  such  a  state  could  be  deduced 
from  Scripture.  A  third  question  turned  upon  the 
primitive  ground  of  quarrel,  the  indulgences  ;  and  out 
of  this  grew  some  collateral  points,  regarding  the  na- 
ture of  repentance,  and  the  remission  of  punishment 
by  the  pope.  The  contest  was  prolonged  for  ten  days, 
and  was  closed  by  Luther  with  these  remarkable 
words :  "  He  flees  from  the  Scriptures  as  the  devil 
does  from  the  cross :  whereas  I,  saving  the  respect 
due  to  the  fathers,  prefer  the  authority  of  Scripture, 
which  I  commend  to  those  who  are  about  to  decide 
between  us."*  Hoffmann,  the  arbiter,  too  prudent  to 
attempt  to  decide  between  the  opposing  leaders,  sug- 
gested that  the  final  determination  of  the  matters  which 
had  been  mooted  should  be  referred  to  the  Universities 
of  Erfurt  and  Paris.  In  the  interim,  each  party,  as  is 
usual  on  all  similar  occasions,  claimed  the  victory. 
Eck,  indeed,  wrote  to  his  friend  and  partisan  Hoogen- 

*  Videtur  fugere  a  facie  Scripturarum,  sicut  diabolus  crucem. 
Quare,  salvia  reverentiis  patrum,  praefero  ego  auctoritatem  Scrip- 
ture, quod  commendo  judicious  futuris. 


120  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 


I 


straaten  a  vain-glorious  account  of  his  assumed  triumph, 
arrogating  to  himself  the  credit  of  having  effectually 
conquered  the  audacious  and  rash  gentleman  of  Wit- 
tenberg. To  this  narrative,  Melancthon  promptly  pub- 
lished a  severe  reply  ;  which  again  drew  from  Eck  a 
still  more  virulent  rejoinder.  A  new  and  violent  enemy 
to  the  reformers  also  started  forth  in  the  person  of 
Jerome  Emser,  a  licentiate  of  theology  at  Leipsic, 
whose  letter  to  Zaok  of  Prague,  detailing  the  particu- 
lars of  the  recent  controversy,  remains  a  curious  spe- 
cimen of  the  scurrilous  acerbities  which  defiled  the 
sentimental  differences  of  the  time.  An  imbittered 
literary  warfare  ensued,  which  soon  involved  in  its 
vortex  many  of  the  most  famous  names  in  Europe  ; 
and  among  the  rest,  Luther  and  Erasmus.  Whatever 
may  be  thought  of  the  immediate  result  of  this  memo- 
rable conflict,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  ultimate 
effect  was  eminently  unfavourable  to  the  interests  of 
the  Papacy.  It  served  to  cherish  and  encourage  that 
awakening  spirit  of  inquiry  which,  once  directed  to  the 
abuses  of  the  dominant  church,  was  sure,  eventually,  to 
favour  the  reformers  ;  an  event  which  not  even  the  suc- 
ceeding and  grave  condemnation  of  the  Lutheran  opi- 
nions by  the  theological  faculty  of  Paris  could  avert. 

Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  from  among  the  au- 
ditors many  became  attached  to  the  principles  of  Lu- 
ther, while  some,  in  no  long  space  of  time,  began  both 
to  preach  them  and  to  write  in  their  defence. 

And  it  was  at  this  discussion  that  Prince  George 
of  Anhalt,  then  a  youth  of  only  twelve  years  of  age, 
pursuing  his  studies  under  a  private  tutor,  received 
those  impressions  which  made  him,  in  the  course  of 
a  few  years,  one  of  the  most  devoted  and  consistent, 

4k 


flfc 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  121 


as  well  as  one  of  the  firmest  and  most  enlightened, 
friends  of  the  Reformation.  Melancthon,  too,  though 
he  took  no  part  in  the  discussion,  was  closely  observant 
of  its  progress.  It  has  been  already  remarked,, that  he 
replied  to  the  publication  in  which  Eck  claimed  the 
victory :  it  deserves  to  be  noted  that  this  was  his  first 
work  in  divinity.  Hitherto  he  had  attended  chiefly 
to  literature  :  henceforward  he  became  the  able  coad- 
jutor of  Luther  as  a  theologian. 

On  the  return  of  Luther  to  Wittenberg,  Miltitz  again 
renewed  his  importunities,  and  with  increased  earnest- 
ness endeavoured  to  promote  a  speedy  reconciliation  of 
the  recusant  party  to  the  Roman  court.  The  recent 
collision,  however,  had  not  only  roused  the  feelings  of 
Luther  and  his  chief  assistants,  but,  by  bringing  pal- 
pably and  prominently  under  their  notice  the  most 
odious  features  of  the  pontifical  creed,  had  greatly 
deepened  their  abhorrence  of  the  system,  and  stimu- 
lated them  to  an  uncompromising  and  more  resolute 
resistance.  Miltitz,  who  saw  all  the  expected  fruits 
of  his  skilful  diplomacy  about  to  disappear,  waxed 
urgent  in  his  expostulations,  and  offered  larger  conces- 
sions than  he  had  before  proposed.  Acknowledging 
the  justice  of  many  of  the  heaviest  charges  of  corrup- 
tion which  had  been  laid  against  the  church,  he  spared 
no  artifice  of  personal  blandishment  and  sedulous  per- 
suasion to  entice  Luther  to  agree  to  some  terms  of 
pacification.  Unfortunately  for  his  embassy,  as  hap- 
pily for  the  world,  the  unyielding  energy  of  the  reform- 
er's spirit  was  now  fully  aroused.  He  would  listen  to 
no  further  overtures  :  he  peremptorily  declined  to  treat 
even  for  a  temporary  suspension  of  hostilities  ;  and  at 
once  assumed  an  atitude  of  irrevocable  defiance,  by 
6 


122  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

launching  at  the  pope  a  memorial,  in  the  form  of  a 
letter,  which  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  records 
of  the  possible  height  of  human  daring  that  ever  as- 
tonished the  insolence,  and  braved  the  uttermost  malice, 
of  despotic  power.  This  document  has  been  the 
theme  of  inexhaustible  vituperation  by  the  Papists ; 
nor  have  some  professing  Protestants  scrupled  to  con- 
demn it,  as  not  merely  evincing  an  uncourteous  and 
ungrateful  disposition  on  the  part  of  its  author,  but  as 
conveying  deliberate  and  gratuitous  insult  to  the  reg- 
nant pontiff  individually.  We  think  otherwise.  We 
can  find  no  indication  of  a  wish  to  be  ironically  caus- 
tic in  those  expressions  of  admiration  and  respect  for 
the  personal  accomplishments  of  Leo  X.  with  which 
the  letter  abounds  ;  and  as  to  the  vigorous  denuncia- 
tions of  the  vices  of  the  Papal  rule,  and  the  flagitious 
depravities  exhibited  by  its  prominent  abettors,  we 
have  no  sympathy  with  the  puling  liberality  that  would 
fain  have  them  cancelled.  The  manifesto  (for  such, 
in  fact,  it  may  be  considered)  is  doubtless  a  most  pun- 
gent and  forcible  diatribe  against  the  various  imposture, 
hypocrisy,  cupidity,  and  baseness  which  infested  every 
part  of  the  ecclesiastical  regime.  Truly  did  Luther 
say,  that  "  the  Roman  Church,  once  the  holiest  of  all 
churches,  had  degenerated  into  a  licentious  den  of 
thieves,  and  had  become  abandoned  to  all  sensuality, 
the  very  kingdom  of  sin,  and  death,  and  hell,  the  wick- 
edness of  which  could  hardly  be  conceived  even  by 
antichrist  himself."  But  while  thus  fearlessly  de- 
scribing the  rampant  iniquity  which  reigned  through 
every  department  of  the  spiritual  empire,  the  writer 
everywhere  addresses  the  pope  himself  in  terms  ot 
compliment  and  approbation  :  compares  him  to  Daniel 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  123 

in  the  den  of  lions,  and  Ezekiel  among  the  scorpions  ; 
reminds  him  of  the  infamous  practices  perpetrated  by- 
others  under  the  pretence  of  his  official  sanction  ;  and, 
disdaining  all  belief  of  his  actual  participation  in  the 
crimes  of  his  flatterers  and  minions,  invokes  him  to 
descend  from  his  perilous  eminence,  to  banish  from 
his  councils  those  enemies  of  his  reputation  who  sur- 
round him,  and  repudiate  honours  which  are  fit  only  to 
be  enjoyed  by  the  "  Iscariots  and  sons  of  perdition." 
These  expressions  have  been  construed  into  mere 
taunting  sarcasms,  poured  out  in  the  fiery  irritation  of 
a  vehement  temperament,  and  studiously  adapted  to 
wound  the  pride  and  outrage  the  just  feelings  of  the 
mitred  autocrat  of  Rome.  That  such  was  not  their  real 
designation,  is  evident  from  the  observation  that,  "  be- 
sides the  pope,  there  were  only  four  learned  and  virtu- 
ous cardinals"  in  the  whole  conclave ;  a  statement  which, 
as  no  one  surely  will  affect  to  torture  it  into  an  ironical 
disparagement  of  those  prelates,  is  conclusive  as  to  the 
sincerity  of  Luther's  laudations  of  their  arch-superior. 
But  it  is  said  that,  whatever  may  have  been  the 
appreciation  by  Luther  of  the  individual  character  of 
Leo,  to  level  at  him,  in  the  face  of  the  whole  world,  a 
missive  laden  with  fierce  criminations  of  the  hierarchy 
over  which  he  presided,  was  an  act  of  unjustifiable  and 
flagrant  insolence.  Against  this  judgment,  also,  we 
decidedly  protest.  Similar  proceedings  have,  before 
now,  occurred  in  civil  revolutions,  without  exciting  the 
offended  wonder  of  the  persons  who  are  forward  in 
condemning  Luther.  Indeed,  we  are  not  aware  that 
any  of  the  great  assertors  of  political  freedom  have 
ever  been  censured  for  calling  on  the  head  of  the  exe- 
cutive government  to  remedy  those  evils  in  the  admin- 


124  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

istration  of  a  corrupt  state  of  which  he  was  presumed 
to  be  neither  the  originator  nor  the  guardian.  The 
numerous  remonstrances  delivered,  as  well  by  indivi- 
duals as  by  public  bodies,  to  Louis  XVI.  during  the 
inceptive  stages  of  the  French  Revolution,  which,  while 
crowded  with  professions  of  attachment  to  the  monarch, 
demanded  the  prompt  mitigation  of  particular  abuses, 
and  even  in  some  instances  the  immediate  removal  from 
office  of  certain  alleged  offenders  against  the  rights  of 
the  people,  are  clearly  cases  in  point ;  the  circumstan- 
tial differences  being  all  in  Luther's  favour.  The 
constitutional  theory  of  our  own  country  distinctly  re- 
cognises the  precise  distinction  between  the  sovereign 
and  his  ministers,  which  Luther,  with  a  felicitous  pre- 
conception of  a  principle  so  important  to  the  stability 
and  regular  operation  of  an  organized  polity,  assumed 
to  obtain  between  the  pontiff  and  the  depraved  creatures 
of  ecclesiastical  corruption.  It  concedes  to  the  popular 
organ  the  privilege  of  approaching  the  throne,  to  repre- 
sent, in  appropriate  terms,  the  existence  of  any  specific 
grievances,  be  they  real  or  imaginary  ;  and  supplicating 
the  dismissal  of  an  administration  which  is  thought  to 
have  shown  itself  either  reluctant  or  unable  to  amend 
them.  Remembering  to  what  uses  this  privilege  has 
been  applied  within  the  last  century,  and  on  what  occa- 
sions it  has  been  recently  suggested  to  exercise  it,  we 
confess  that  we  read  with  surprise  the  condemnatory 
strictures  on  the  conduct  of  Luther,  of  some  of  those 
writers  who  have  loudly  insisted  on  the  adoption  of  a 
parallel  course  under  circumstances  of  infinitely  lighter 
provocation. 

But  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  the  proximate  influ- 
ences which  wrought  upon  the  mind  of  Luther,  in  con- 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  125 

nection  with  the  publication  of  this  celebrated  epistle 
directly  tended  to  impress  him  with  a  conviction  of 
Leo's  personal  innocence,  and  disapproval  of  many  of 
the  most  shameless  indecencies  of  the  inferior  priest- 
hood and  their  servile  adherents.  The  compromise 
which  had  so  nearly  resulted  from  the  negotiations  of 
Miltitz,  shows  that  Luther  gave  credence  to  the  ambas- 
sador's disclaimer  for  his  master  of  all  disposition  to 
authorize,  or  even  to  suffer  the  continuance  of,  not  a 
few  of  the  abominations  which  clung  to  the  confes- 
sional, and  the  traffic  in  indulgences.  Now  presuming, 
as  he  must  have  presumed,  that  the  nuncio  would  hardly 
have  exceeded  his  instructions,  and  believing  Leo  to 
be  sincerely  bent  on  carrying  into  effect  his  proposed 
reforms,  it  seems  to  us  not  only  that  Luther  was  amply 
justified  in  denouncing  to  the  pope  those  crying  and 
enormous  depravities  which  the  recent  discussion  had 
more  palpably  than  ever  disclosed,  but  that  in  separating 
between  that  personage  individually,  and  the  pestilent 
system  of  which  he  was  ostensibly  the  head,  he  dis- 
covered anything  but  a  desire  to  give  causeless  insult, 
or  to  expectorate  the  venom  of  an  irascible  and  unre- 
lenting nature.  That  the  effect  of  Luther's  address 
upon  the  pontiff  was  at  once  to  excite  the  only  dormant 
malignity  of  arbitrary  power,  and  for  ever  extinguish 
the  last  vestige  of  forbearance,  is  unquestionably  true. 
But  this  fact  proves  only  that  if  Miltitz,  in  his  endea- 
vours to  bring  about  a  permanent  pacification,  had  not 
made  much  larger  overtures  than  he  was  authorized  to 
make,  Leo  X.  had,  from  the  beginning,  been  acting 
with  the  proverbial  duplicity  and  Punic  faith  of  the 
popedom.  The  former  is,  perhaps,  the  most  probable, 
as  well  as  the  most  charitable,  supposition ;  but  there 


126  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

is  certainly  no  reason  to  conclude  that  Luther  so  much 
as  suspected  that  the  Papal  diplomatist  had  overstepped 
his  ministerial  authority.  On  the  contrary,  we  may  be 
assured  that  had  such  a  suspicion  ever  crossed  the  im- 
agination of  the  reformer,  he  would,  much  sooner  than  he 
did,  have  cut  short  the  negotiation,  and  flung  off  his  lin- 
gering allegiance  to  the  sceptred  tyranny  of  the  Vatican. 
Luther  concludes  the  memorable  declaration  on 
which  we  have  been  commenting  with  an  exhortation 
to  the  pope  to  beware  of  listening  to  the  seductive  flat- 
teries of  those,  his  courtiers  and  dependants,  who,  set- 
ting him  above  the  voice  of  general  councils,  and  of 
the  whole  church,  would  persuade  him  to  fancy  him- 
self a  kind  of  deity,  the  lord  of  the  whole  world,  with- 
out whose  presence  and  sanction  the  Christian  religion 
would  itself  be  worthless.  "  Those  men,"  says  he, 
"  are  your  foes,  and  are  seeking  to  destroy  your  soul : 
*  the  people  who  thus  call  thee  blessed,  deceive  them- 
selves.' They  are  in  error  who  ascribe  to  you,  and  to 
you  alone,  the  exclusive  power  to  interpret  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  while,  under  the  protection  of  your  assumed 
authority,  they  labour  to  disseminate  throughout  the 
church  their  own  blasphemous  inventions.  Satan,  I 
grieve  to  say,  has  accomplished  much  by  such  agents 
under  your  predecessors."  But  the  most  important  pas- 
sage in  the  whole  composition  is  that  which  announces 
the  entire  hopelessness  of  any  further  attempts  either  to 
terrify  or  cajole  him  into  submission ;  and  conveys  his 
immortal  avowal  of  a  fundamental  principle  of  the  Re- 
formation :  "  Let  no  one,  most  holy  father,  imagine  that 
I  will  sing  a  palinode,  unless  he  wishes  to  arouse  a  still 
greater  tempest.     I  will  admit  of  no  restraint  in 

INTERPRETING   THE   WORD   OF   GOD," 


LIFE  OF  MARTTN  LUTHER.  127 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Open  war  was  now  declared  between  Luther  and  the 
pontificate.  Instigated  by  the  malignant  promptings  of 
the  offended  dignitaries  who  surrounded  him,  and  espe- 
cially by  the  representations  of  the  cardinal  of  Gaeta, 
both  of  whom  were  severely  mentioned  in  Luther's 
letter,  the  pope  proceeded  to  call  together  a  congre- 
gation of  theologians,  prelates,  and  canonists,  to  deter- 
mine what  steps  should  be  taken  for  the  suppression 
of  the  Saxon  heresiarch  and  his  opinions.  In  thus 
associating  with  himself  the  most  eminent  churchmen 
of  the  day,  he  was  probably  influenced  as  much  by  a 
wish  to  give  an  air  of  peculiar  solemnity  to  the  subse- 
quent edict,  as  by  any  respect  which  he  entertained 
for  the  aggregate  wisdom  of  his  counsellors,  or  for  the 
suggestions  of  the  Universities  of  Louvaine  and  Co- 
logne, which  had  recently  remonstrated  with  him  upon 
the  danger  of  permitting  the  Lutheran  errors  to  remain 
longer  unproscribed.  The  assembly  met  at  Rome,  in 
the  summer  of  1520  ;  but,  except  upon  one  point, 
namely,  the  necessity  of  immediately  discharging  upon 
Luther  the  anathemas  of  the  church,  there  was  but 
little  show  of  unanimity  among  its  members.  The 
proper  method  of  promulgating  the  pontifical  denuncia- 
tion was  keenly  debated ;  as  were  even  the  minute 
details  of  its  phraseology  and  precise  form.  These 
important  matters  being  at  length,  and  after  much  de- 
liberation, satisfactorily  adjusted,  the  thunderbolt  which 
had  been  forged  with  so  much  pomp  and  labour  by 


128  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

these   ecclesiastical  Cyclops,  was   launched  against 
Luther  on  the  15th  of  June. 

This  bull,  which  may  be  regarded  as  having  com- 
pleted the  severance  of  the  Lutheran  party  from  the 
Church  of  Rome,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  illus- 
trations that  history  presents  of  the  insolent  self-exalta- 
tion and  insane  security  which  often  precede  the  final 
downfall  of  a  declining  power.  In  the  magnitude  and 
impious  absurdity  of  its  pretensions  to  universal  empire, 
on  the  part  of  the  pope,  it  surpasses  even  the  most 
exorbitant  of  its  prototypes.  Imploring  the  Almighty 
to  arise  and  avenge  his  own  cause,  it  invokes  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,  and  the  innumerable  army  of  the  saints, 
to  be  urgent  in  their  intercessions  for  the  prosperity 
and  concord  of  the  church.  It  then  goes  on  to  con- 
'demn,  as  scandalous,  heretical,  and  damnable,  forty-one 
propositions  taken  from  Luther's  writings ;  forbidding 
all  persons,  upon  pain  of  excommunication,  to  either 
preach  or  listen  to  them.  Next  follows  a  recital  of 
the  exemplary  forbearance  of  the  holy  see ;  its  various 
and  persevering  efforts  to  reclaim  the  offender ;  and  a 
vehement  tirade  against  him  for  his  ingratitude  and 
obstinate  recusancy.  To  these  statements  succeeds  a 
charge  of  flagrant  contumacy,  in  appealing  to  a  general 
council  in  the  teeth  of  the  decretals  of  Pius  II.  and 
Julius  II.,  together  with  an  imputation  of  having  slan- 
dered the  immaculate  Papacy.  After  a  few  blas- 
phemies about  "  imitating  the  omnipotent  God,  who 
desireth  not  the  death  of  a  sinner,"  &c,  the  pope  pro- 
ceeds to  exhort  Luther  to  return,  like  the  penitent 
prodigal,  to  the  bosom  of  the  church ;  and  calls  upon 
him  and  his  adherents  to  read  a  public  recantation,  and 
commit  their  books  to  the  flames,  within  the  space  of 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  129 

sixty  days.  Failing  to  comply  with  this  requisition, 
they  are  pronounced  to  be  incorrigible  and  accursed 
heretics,  whom  all  princes  and  magistrates  are  en- 
joined to  apprehend,  and  send  to  Rome,  or  banish  from 
the  country  in  which  they  shall  be  found.  The  towns 
where  they  reside  are  laid  under  an  interdict;  and 
every  one  who  shall  oppose  the  publication  and  execu- 
tion of  the  bull  is  excommunicated  in  "  the  name  of 
the  almighty  God,  and  of  the  holy  apostles,  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul." 

Of  about  coeval  date  with  this  decisive  proclamation, 
was  a  letter  written  by  Leo  to  the  elector  Frederic, 
having  reference  to  the  same  subject,  the  errors,  name- 
ly, of  that  "  son  of  iniquity,"  as  he  is  described,  Martin 
Luther.  The  Saxon  prince  received  his  holiness's 
communication  while  he  was  in  attendance  at  the  im- 
perial court.  Justly  estimating  the  hollow  professions 
of  friendship  which  it  contained,  as  well  as  the  insidi- 
ous intimation  intended  to  be  given  by  its  affected 
commendations  of  his  attachment  to  the  church,  and 
horror  of  the  Lutheran  tenets,  Frederic  appears  to  have 
resolved  henceforth  to  lend  a  more  overt  and  determi- 
nate protection  to  Luther  than  he  had  hitherto  accord- 
ed. The  University  of  Wittenberg,  seizing  the  tempo- 
rary absence  of  their  sovereign  as  a  pretext,  refused 
to  publish  the  pontifical  bull ;  while  -  the  appointment 
of  Eck,  Luther's  intemperate  and  industrious  enemy, 
officially  to  promulgate  that  instrument  in  Germany, 
threw  an  apparent  scandal  both  on  the  instrument  itself, 
and  on  the  motives  by  which  its  authors  had  been 
governed  in  the  fabrication  and  issuing  of  so  extreme 
and  minatory  a  decree. 

Meanwhile,  the  combined  influence  of  the  pope  and 
6* 


130  LIFE  OP  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

his  confederates  was  diligently  exerted  to  inveigle  the 
young  emperor  (who  was  crowned  at  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
October  23d,  1520,)  into  making  common  cause  with 
them  against  the  Wittenberg  schismatics.  Happily 
the  credit  of  Frederic  "  the  "Wise"  was  as  yet  sufficient 
to  countervail  the  inimical  designs  of  the  Papal  autho- 
rity. Ever  disposed  to  insist  upon  the  independence 
of  the  Germanic  federacy,  and  consequently  to  look 
with  a  jealous  eye  upon  the  encroachments  on  that  in- 
dependence which  were  threatened  by  interventions 
made  under  the  pretence  of  enforcing  ecclesiastical 
discipline,  that  prince  had,  not  improbably,  been 
strengthened  in  his  hostility  to  the  projects  of  the  su- 
preme pontificate  by  considerations  which  Melancthon 
had  lately  stated  with  much  emphasis  in  his  reply  to 
Eck.  This  amiable  scholar,  in  his  learned  exposition 
of  the  all-grasping  usurpations  of  the  Roman  see,  had 
recalled  to  the  memory  of  his  countrymen  the  histori- 
cal circumstances  connected  with  the  assumed  juris- 
diction of  the  pope  over  the  German  Church ;  and 
demonstrated,  that  not  only  was  that  jurisdiction  a 
thing  of  mere  sufferance  and  tacit  concession,  on  the 
part  of  the  imperial  states,  but  that  the  express  letter 
of  the  ancient  canon  law  gave  the  cognizance  of  all 
accusations,  such  as  those  with  which  Luther  had  been 
visited,  to  the  diet  of  the  empire,  in  their  character  of 
provincial  councils.  Acting  upon  this  politic  sugges- 
tion, Frederic  employed  the  weight  which  his  eminent 
services  assured  to  him  among  the  advisers  of  the 
emperor,  in  bringing  the  latter  to  afford  the  reform- 
ing chief  an  opportunity  of  making  good  his  defence 
before  the  regular  tribunal  of  his  country.  To  this 
advice  Charles  was,  perhaps,  not  the  less  disposed  to 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  131 

lend  a  favourable  ear,  that  his  prophetic  sagacity  al- 
ready foresaw  the  extent  of  future  danger  to  his  own 
crown  which  might  arise  from  too  large  an  allowance 
of  ecclesiastical  intervention  in  the  domestic  affairs  of 
his  dominions  ;  while  the  instinctive  jealousy  of  suc- 
cessful ambition  warned  him  to  brook  no  assumption 
by  the  pontiff  of  a  participant  sovereignty  within  the 
Germanic  territory.  At  the  same  time,  he  was  de- 
sirous of  securing  the  friendship  of  the  pope  to  aid  him 
in  the  now  evidently  approaching  contest  with  his  un- 
successful rival  for  the  imperial  crown,  Francis  I.,  the 
French  king.  On  his  arrival  in  Germany,  therefore, 
from  his  patrimonial  dominions,  he  had  appointed  a 
diet  of  the  empire  to  be  held  on  the  6th  of  January, 
1521,  in  which  the  new  opinions,  as  they  were  termed, 
which  threatened  to  break  the  unity  of  the  church,  and 
to  disturb  the  public  peace,  might  be  considered,  and  a 
proper  decision  formed. 

The  electoral  prince  of  Saxony  had  not  delayed  to 
transmit  to  Rome  an  epistolary  vindication  of  himself 
from  certain  suspicions  of  an  entire  adhesion  to  the 
Lutheran  opinions,  which  had  brought  him  into  bad 
odour  with  the  conclave.  In  this  justification,  which 
throughout  evinces  tokens  of  admirable  sagacity,  he, 
with  consummate  art,  introduces  those  topics  which 
were  best  adapted  to  deter  the  pope  from  resorting  to 
extreme  measures.  Not  content  with  simply  disclaim- 
ing an  absolute  patronage  of  the  reformers,  and  deny- 
ing that  he  had  personally  read  their  publications,  he 
informs  Leo  that  he  had  the  assurances  of  many  learned 
and  pious  men  that  the  Lutheran  doctrines  were  sound 
and  godly ;  that  Luther  would,  ere  this,  have  quitted 
Saxony,  had  not  Miltitz  represented  that  under  the  con- 


132  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

trol  of  the  elector  and  the  university  he  was  less  likely 
to  perform  extensive  mischief  than  he  would  elsewhere 
be  ;  and  that,  above  all,  many  of  the  educated  laity 
having  imbibed  the  sentiments  of  Luther,  and  addicted 
themselves  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  any  harsh 
exercise  of  ecclesiastical  power  would  certainly  endan- 
ger the  public  peace,  and  in  all  probability  be  produc- 
tive of  irreparable  disaster. 

Nor  had  Luther  himself  been  idle  pending  these 
transactions.  In  the  very  month  (June,  1520,)  which 
saw  the  publication  at  Rome  of  the  bull  of  excommu- 
nication, he  issued  "  An  Address  to  the  Christian  No- 
bility of  the  German  Nation,"  exposing  the  nefarious 
artifices  and  prevalent  corruption  of  the  Romish  Church ; 
a  tract  which  was  received  with  such  extraordinary 
avidity,  that  in  less  than  eight  weeks  from  the  date  of 
its  publication,  four  thousand  copies  were  in  circula- 
tion throughout  the  empire.  The  signal  sensation 
created  by  this  work  so  greatly  exhilarated  him,  that 
he  wrote  to  Spalatin  to  let  the  elector  know,  and 
communicate  the  intelligence  to  Rome,  that  the  pope 
would  gain  nothing  by  procuring  him  to  be  expelled 
from  Wittenberg,  as  he  should  then  be  in  a  condition 
to  offer  a  more  obstinate  resistance  than  before,  under 
still  higher  protection,  and  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
yet  untainted  Catholicism  of  Germany.  Upon  the 
appearance  of  Eck,  (in  October,  1520,)  armed  with 
the  damnatory  bull,  the  popular  enthusiasm  began  to 
show  itself  on  Luther's  side.  The  busy  malice  of  the. 
new  nuncio  was  everywhere  decried.  In  some  places 
the  copies  which  he  distributed  of  the  pope's  decretal 
were  torn  from  the  walls  on  which  they  had  been  post- 
ed, and  placards  threatening  him  with  bodily  chastise- 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  133 

ment  substituted  in  their  room.  The  students  of  more 
than  one  university  rose  against  him ;  and  from  some 
towns  the  populace  compelled  him  to  retire.  For  a 
while  Luther  affected  to  regard  this  bull  as  a  mere 
trick,  a  spurious  invention  devised  by  the  malignant 
ingenuity  of  Eck,  for  the  purpose  of  injuring  and  de- 
grading a  victorious  antagonist.  But  satisfied  at  last 
of  the  authenticity  of  the  document,  he  reiterated  his 
appeal  to  a  general  council ;  which  was  soon  followed 
up  by  a  series  of  caustic  and  unsparing  animadversions 
on  the  "  Execrable  Bull  of  Pope  Leo  X.,  Antichrist." 
In  the  preface  to  this  production,  he  accuses  Eck  of 
having  been  the  principal  instigator  of  the  bull  which 
he  was  now  commissioned  to  publish ;  and  describes 
him  as  a  "  most  noted  hypocrite  and  liar,"  a  "  mon- 
ster," and  an  incarnation  of  the  very  spirit  of  antichrist. 
The  substance  of  the  commentary  which  ensues  con- 
sists of  a  bitter  vituperation  of  the  pollutions  and  in- 
iquity of  the  Papal  metropolis,  which  he  pronounces 
to  be  the  seat  and  chosen  strong-hold  of  Satan.  In 
one  part,  he  even  goes  the  length  of  acquainting  the 
pope  that  he  has  no  desire  to  be  absolved  from  the 
censures  levelled  against  him ;  and  that  he  is  prepared 
to  maintain  his  doctrine  at  the  hazard  of  his  life  ;  add- 
ing to  these  announcements  a  contemptuous  threat,  that 
if  the  pontiff  and  his  slaves  continue  to  molest  him,  he 
will  not  fail  to  consign  them  all,  in  succession,  pope, 
cardinals,  bishops,  and  their  atrocious  bull,  to  their 
father,  the  devil ;  only  trusting  that  they  may  be  libe- 
rated together  at  the  second  coming  of  the  Saviour. 
"  Farewell,"  he  concludes,  "  farewell,  O  Rome,  thou 
thrice  accursed  abomination !  Thou  art  filled  with  so 
much  of  impiety  and  foolishness,  as  are  unworthy  even 


134  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

to  be  refuted.  By  these  thy  infamous  proceedings  thou 
hast  openly  manifested  the  base  spirit  in  which  thou 
hast  promulgated  this  detestable  decree." 

To  the  appeal  was  also  appended  a  writing  of  con- 
siderable bulk,  entitled,  "  An  Affirmation  of  all  the  Ar- 
ticles maintained  by  Martin  Luther,  and  condemned 
by  the  Bull  of  Leo  X. ;"  which  was  inscribed  to  one 
of  his  friends,  Fabius  Felix,  a  knight  of  the  empire. 
Among  other  things  which  these  various  publications 
imbodied  and  enforced,  was  a  general  protest  against 
the  bull,  grounded  on  the  four  following  reasons : — 
First,  that  he  stood  condemned  without  having  been 
permitted  to  defend  his  conduct ;  secondly,  that  he 
was  required  to  deny  that  faith  was  essential  to  the 
efficacious  reception  of  the  sacrament ;  thirdly,  that 
the  pope  exalted  his  own  opinions  above  the  word  of 
God ;  and  lastly,  that  Leo  had  declined  to  convoke  a 
council  of  the  church. 

His  active  and  inveterate  enemy,  Eck,  having  found 
means,  spite  of  the  popular  odium  which  in  some  dis- 
tricts attached  to  his  movements,  to  induce  the  autho- 
rities of  Louvaine,  Cologne,  and  other  towns,  both  in 
Germany  and  Flanders,  to  assist  at  the  public  crema- 
tion of  the  reformer's  wrorks,  Luther  at  length  retaliated 
in  kind.  Having  beforehand  given  general  notice  of 
his  intention  on  the  10th  of  December,  1520,  he 
assembled  a  large  concourse  of  people,  composed  of 
citizens  and  members  of  the  University  of  Wittenberg, 
escorted  by  whom,  he  repaired  to  a  spot  lying  without  the 
walls,  where  a  scaffold  had  previously  been  erected,  and 
all  preparations  made  for  the  ceremony.  Here,  assisted 
by  the  doctors  and  students  of  his  college,  he  laid  in  or- 
der a  species  of  funeral  pile,  which,  having  lighted  with 


LIFE  OP  MARTIN  LUTHER.  135 

his  own  hand,  he  cast  into  the  fire,  by  turns,  the  Abridg- 
ment of  the  Canon  Law,  the  Decrees  of  Gratian,  the 
Extravagants  of  Clement  VI.  and  Julius  II.,  and,  last 
of  all,  the  obnoxious  bull  of  the  reigning  pope,  exclaim- 
ing, as  the  blaze  took  hold  upon  the  pestilential  page, 
"  Because  ye  have  troubled  the  Holy  One  of  God,  thus 
shall  ye  be  consumed  with  eternal  jire  /"  The  contro- 
versial productions  of  Eck  and  Enser  shared  the  same 
fate  ;  and,  looking  to  the  mischievous  tendency  of  the 
various  delusions  which  the  records  then  destroyed 
were  written  to  inculcate,  it  may  almost  be  permitted 
us  to  regret  that  every  remaining  copy  of  them  in 
the  world  has  not  perished  in  the  same  appropriate 
manner.  • 

The  succeeding  day  witnessed  the  delivery,  in  the 
great  church  of  Wittenberg,  of  one  of  those  stirring 
appeals  to  the  sympathies  and  reason  of  a  vast  audi- 
ence, by  which,  more  than  by  any,  the  most  elaborate 
and  effective,  diatribes  from  the  pen,  the  heart  of  mul- 
titudes is  bowed  as  the  heart  of  one  man  to  the  will  of 
the  teacher.  After  referring  to  the  recent  conflagration, 
he  adjured  them  to  renounce,  with  their  whole  spirit, 
the  pontifical  tyranny,  as  a  thing  utterly  irreconcilable 
with  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  warring  against  the 
safety  of  their  souls.  He  then  selected  from  the  de- 
cretals thirty  propositions,  which  he  denounced  as 
heretical,  and  worthy  only  to  be  burned ;  and  wound 
up  a  discourse  which,  for  fiery  eloquence  and  indelible 
effect  upon  the  feeling  of  an  immense  congregation,  has 
perhaps  never  been  surpassed,  by  vigorously  exhorting 
those  who  heard  him  to  abjure  all  the  cunningly-devised 
fables  of  a  system  whose  advocates  were  for  ever 
"  speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy ;"  and  to  give  heed  to  the 


136  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

^whole  word  of  inspiration,  which  alone  was  able  to 
make  them  wise  unto  salvation. 

Such  was  the  reputation  of  this  sermon,  that  tidings 
of  it  were  conveyed  to  Rome,  together  with  the  news 
of  the  burning  of  the  pontifical  statutes.  This  last  and 
undisguised  contumacy  was  there  regarded  as  an  out- 
rage which  placed  the  offender  beyond  the  pale  of 
reclamation  or  forgiveness  ;  and  accordingly,  upon  the 
6th  of  January,  1521,  sentence  of  final  excommunica- 
tion was  thundered  against  Luther.  In  the  second 
bull,  which  proclaimed  this  doom,  he  was  declared  a 
heretic,  a  son  of  perdition,  and  an  eternal  outcast,  ex- 
pelled the  communion  of  the  faithful,  and  delivered 
over  to  S«tan.  Like  its  precursor,  the  new  edict  was 
circulated  through  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  and 
variously  received  in  different  provinces.  In  Ger- 
many, the  general  sentiment  regarding  it  was  one  of 
unmixed  contempt  for  its  arrogant  impotence  and  folly. 
Nothing,  it  is  probable,  could  have  so  clearly  indicated 
the  present  weakness  and  approaching  decadence  of 
the  Roman  strength,  as  did  the  virtual  inefficacy  of  a 
commination  which,  half  a  century  before,  might  have 
shaken  a  monarch  from  the  throne  of  a  hundred  ances- 
tors. But  the  days  of  darkness  were  passing  away. 
Printing  by  moveable  types  had  been  invented,  and 
learning  had  been  extensively  revived.  And  while,  as 
was  then  customary,  strong  language  was  used  by  Lu- 
ther to  express  vehement  feeling,  yet  this  was  only 
mixed  up  with  arguments  numerous  and  weighty, 
which  carried  conviction  on  every  hand,  and  led  mul- 
titudes to  exclaim,  "  With  this  man  is  found  the  truth 
of  the  gospel :  his  cause,  therefore,  is  the  cause  of 
God." 


LIFE  OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  137 


CHAPTER  IX. 

An  eventful  period,  not  only  for  Luther,  nor  even  for 
the  church  of  Christ,  but  also  for  the  whole  human 
race,  was  now  approaching.  The  first  diet  of  the 
empire  under  the  new  reign  had  been  appointed,  and 
one  of  the  principal  subjects  of  consideration  was  to 
be  the  conduct  of  Luther.  According  to  the  provisions 
of  the  Golden  Bull,  Nuremberg  should  have  been  the 
place  of  assembly  ;  but  the  plague  having  appeared 
there,  the  members  were  required  to  meet  at  Worms. 
Frederic  repaired  thither  in  company  with  the  emperor, 
who  had  earnestly  requested  him  to  bring  along  with 
him  the  Wittenberg  professor  ;  but  the  elector,  wish- 
ing to  delay  the  appearance  of  Luther  till  various  pre- 
liminaries had  been  adjusted,  declined  to  comply.  The 
diet  assembled  in  January,  according  to  the  appointment 
of  Charles  when  he  first  landed  from  Spain,  and  at 
once  proceeded  to  the  discussion  of  the  important  mat- 
ters on  which  their  decision  was  required. 

Having  deputed  Caraccioli,  an  apostolic  notary,  who, 
a  few  years  later,  was  elevated  to  the  rank  of  cardinal, 
to  bear  to  the  emperor  the  customary  congratulations 
of  the  popedom  on  his  accession,  Leo  considered  the 
Lutheran  revolt  to  be  of  sufficient  importance  to  de- 
mand the  nomination  of  a  second  representative,  spe- 
cially delegated  to  superintend  the  extermination  of  the 
Wittenberg  heresies.  This  duty,  a  duty  as  hopeless 
as  it  was  invidious,  he  devolved  upon  Girolamo  Ale- 
ander,  a  distinguished  ecclesiastic,  than  whom  a  man 
of  finer  faculties,  of  bolder  spirit,  and  more  entire  devo- 


138  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

tion  to  the  interests  of  the  Papacy,  could  hardly  have 
been  found  among  the  ranks  of  its  ablest  and  ambitious 
servants.  Presenting  himself  at  the  coronation  of 
Charles,  the  theological  legate,  as  was  his  style,  fol- 
lowed in  the  imperial  train,  from  Aix-la-Chapelle  to 
Cologne,  where  he  caused  the  books  of  Luther  to  be 
burnt,  though  not  without  some  demonstrations  of  popu- 
lar hostility.  Thence  he  repaired  to  the  ancient  city, 
which  was  honoured  by  the  assemblage  of  the  federal 
potentates  of  the  empire.  The  opportunities  which 
his  attendance  on  the  emperor  threw  open  to  him,  he 
did  not  fail  to  turn  to  skilful  account,  by  bespeaking 
the  promised  aid  of  his  own  views  of  many  of  the 
electoral  sovereigns  ;  while,  on  the  side  of  Luther,  the 
princes  of  Bavaria  and  Saxony  stood  alone  and  unsup- 
ported. One  of  the  ostensible  purposes  for  which  the 
diet  had  expressly  been  convoked,  was  the  condition 
of  the  Germanic  Church.  Upon  this  subject  Aleander 
brought  to  bear  all  his  eminent  talents,  in  a  speech  of 
three  hours'  duration,  and  of  such  singular  power  as  to 
have  won  the  admiration  even  of  those  most  adverse 
to  the  policy  which  he  recommended.  "  In  the  course 
of  his  oration,"  says  the  biographer  of  Leo  X.,  "  he 
asserted  that  the  opposition  of  Luther  was  not  confined 
to  the  pope  and  the  Roman  see,  but  was  directed 
against  the  most  sacred  dogmas  of  the  Christian  faith  ; 
that  Luther  had  denied  the  power  of  the  supreme  pon- 
tiff, and  even  of  a  general  council,  to  decide  in  matters 
of  doctrine, — without  which,  it  was  evident  that  there 
would  be  as  many  opinions  on  the  sense  of  Scripture, 
as  there  were  readers  ;  that  by  impugning  the  doctrine 
of  a  free  agency,  and  preaching  up  that  of  a  certain 
uncontrollable  necessity,  a  door  was  opened  for  al] 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  139 

kinds  of  wickedness  and  licentiousness,  as  it  would  be 
thought  a  sufficient  excuse  to  allege  that  such  crimes 
were  inevitable.  After  discussing  these  and  many 
similar  topics,  he  concluded  by  observing  that  the 
Roman  court  had  laboured  during  four  years,  without 
effect,  to  subdue  this  detestable  heresy  ;  and  that  no- 
thing now  remained  but  to  entreat  the  interference  of 
the  emperor  and  the  German  princes,  who  might,  by 
an  imperial  edict,  expose  both  it  and  its  author  to 
merited  execration  and  contempt." 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  this  harangue,  Aleander  art- 
fully took  advantage  of  Luther's  apparent  acquiescence 
in  the  positions  maintained  by  Carlostadt,  to  inflame 
against  him  the  prejudices  of  the  diet.  It  was  his 
policy  to  lead  the  assembly,  at  once,  and  before  the 
excitement  produced  by  his  eloquent  declamation  had 
subsided,  to  place  the  reformer  under  the  ban  of  the 
empire,  and  thus  to  extinguish  a  rebellion  which, 
gathering  strength  daily,  the  Papal  bull  was  impotent 
to  suppress.  The  prudent  and  calm  sagacity  of  the 
elector  Frederic,  however,  defeated  the  hopes  of  the 
legate.  Professing  to  give  no  opinion  on  the  intrinsic 
propriety  of  Luther's  sentiments  and  conduct,  he  in- 
sisted that  there  would  be  scandalous  injustice  in  pro- 
ceeding either  to  condemn  those  sentiments,  or  coerce 
their  reputed  author,  without  first  calling  him  before 
them,  and  legally  interrogating  him  as  to  the  alleged 
fact  of  his  having  taught  the  offensive  dogmas  that 
were  said  to  be  contained  in  his  books.  To  Aleander, 
the  universal  approbation  with  which  the  assembled 
princes  received  this  proposition  was  a  sore  disappoint- 
ment ;  for  he  was  too  well  aware  of  the  probable  effect 
of  the  personal  presence  and  eloquent  intrepidity  of 


140  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

Luther,  to  regard  with  indifference  a  project  which 
threatened  to  supersede  the  predisposition  of  the  diet 
in  favour  of  his  own  schemes.  The  proposal,  hov 
ever,  emanated  from  too  high  a  quarter,  and  was, 
besides,  too  reasonable  in  itself,  to  be  rejected.  It 
was  therefore  resolved  that  Luther  should  be  forthwith 
summoned  to  attend,  and  answer  for  himself,  under 
protection  of  a  safe-conduct  from  the  emperor.  When 
the  mandate  requiring  him  to  bring  himself  before  the 
diet  reached  Wittenberg,  it  occasioned  not  a  little  alarm 
to  the  reforming  party.  Many  of  them,  in  terror  for 
their  leader's  safety,  entreated  him  to  disregard  the 
citation;  reminding  him  of  the  fate  of  Huss,  who, 
betrayed  by  similar  pretences,  had  forfeited  his  life  by 
a  too  rash  confidence  in  the  good  faith  of  his  persecu- 
tors, at  the  Council  of  Constance.  Himself  not  igno- 
rant of  the  peril  he  was  about  to  encounter,  it  would 
have  inferred  small  dishonour  to  his  habitual  fortitude 
if  he  had  hesitated  to  obey  the  command  of  a  body  of 
whom  the  majority  were  well  known  to  be  inveterately 
opposed  to  both  his  cause  and  person.  But  to  all  the 
persuasions  of  his  friends  Luther  was  deaf.  "I  am 
called,"  said  he ;  "  it  is  ordered  and  decreed  that  I 
appear  in  that  city.  I  will  neither  recant  nor  flee.  I 
will  go  to  Worms,  in  spite  of  all  the  gates  of  hell,  and 
the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air." 

Without  delay,  he  prepared  to  accompany  the  impe- 
rial herald  who  had  been  sent  to  escort  him  to  the 
scene  of  his  trial  and  his  triumph.  Not  a  few  of  the 
m6st  conspicuous  members  of  his  own  university 
attended  him ;  and  such  was  the  general  veneration 
which  his  character  and  fearless  assertion  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  religious  freedom  had  awakened,  that  the 


Sflttl 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  141 

whole  journey  resembled  an  ovation.  In  every  town 
through  which  he  passed,  multitudes  thronged  to  catch 
a  glimpse  of  the  man  who  had  so  bravely  lifted  his 
voice  against  the  oppressions  and  depravity  of  the  armed 
see  of  Rome  :  and  had  mere  ambition  or  human  vanity 
mingled  with  the  higher  impulses  that  guided,  and  the 
feelings  that  sustained  his  heart,  those  passions  might 
have  been  even  surfeited  with  the  applause  which  hung 
upon  his  progress. 

The  Papal  emissaries  meanwhile  were  exerting  their 
utmost  influence  to  procure  the  immediate  condemna- 
tion of  Luther ;  or,  failing  in  this,  to  prevent  his  ap- 
pearance before  the  princes  of  the  empire.  Devoted 
as  they  were  to  the  Papacy,  they  knew  how  much  the 
church  stood  in  need  of  reform,  and  how  heavily  its 
numerous  abuses  pressed  upon  all  ranks,  so  that  even 
those  who  were  most  opposed  to  doctrinal  alterations, 
earnestly  desired  amendments  utterly  at  variance  with 
the  interests  of  the  Roman  court,  and  were  ready  to 
embrace  the  first  opportunity  of  securing  them.  Nor 
were  they  ignorant  of  the  power  of  Luther's  eloquence, 
or  of  the  weight  and  force  of  his  arguments.  They 
had  no  wish  to  grapple  with  him  in  debate,  nor  to  gain 
any  more  such  victories  as  that  of  which  Eck  boasted 
at  Leipsic.  Their  efforts,  therefore,  were  unremitting 
to  win  the  young  emperor  to  their  schemes ;  and  the 
friends  of  Luther  were  so  much  alarmed,  that  they 
wrote  to  him,  even  after  he  had  left  Wittenberg,  be- 
seeching him  to  return.  He  received  the  letter  at 
Oppenheim,  whither  he  had  arrived  in  his  way  to 
Worms.  His  answer  lives  in  the  memory  of  every 
Protestant  Christian  in  the  world :  "  In  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  I  will  be  there ;  I  will  enter  into  the  very 


142  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

mouth  of  Behemoth,  and  there  acknowledge  Christ. 
Into  that  place  will  I  go,  though  there  be  in 

IT  AS    MANY   DEVILS  AS    THERE  ARE    TILES    UPON    THE 

houses  "  On  his  entry  into  Worms,  (April  16th,  1521,) 
Luther  was  again  surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  spec- 
tators, eager  to  testify  their  admiration  of  his  singular 
resoluteness  and  constancy.  As  he  approached  the 
hall  where  the  diet  held  its  sittings,  on  the  ensuing 
morning,  various  expressions  of  approving  sympathy, 
coupled  with  exhortations  to  acquit  himself  with  his 
usual  courage,  were  addressed  to  him  by  the  crowd. 
"  Monk,"  said  Frundberg,  an  old  captain  in  the  imperial 
army,  laying  his  hand  on  the  reformer's  shoulder,  "  be- 
ware what  you  do :  you  are  in  more  danger  than  any 
of  us  have  ever  braved  upon  the  field  of  battle :  but  if 
you  are  in  the  right  road,  go  forward  in  God's  name, 
and  be  sure  that  he  will  not  forsake  you !" 

Arraigned  before  this  august  senate  of  the  empire, 
with  its  ascending  orders  of  principalities  and  powers, 
the  calm  magnanimity  of  the  man  never  abandoned 
him  for  a  moment.  His  dignified  bearing,  and  the  se- 
rene self-possession  which  a  sense  of  the  grandeur  of 
his  cause  assured  to  him,  commanded  the  respect  of  even 
his  bitterest  enemies  ;  and  it  deserves  to  be  commem- 
orated, that  his  treatment  upon  this,  the  greatest  and 
most  critical  occasion  of  his  life,  when  the  curse  of 
excommunication  already  branded  him,  was  expressive 
of  far  more  deference  and  respect  than  that  which 
he  had  experienced  in  his  former  interviews  with  Ca- 
jetan  at  Augsburg.  Upon  a  table,  in  the  centre  of  the 
room  of  audience,  lay  copies  of  those  works  of  Luther 
which  the  recent  bull  assumed  to  convict  of  heresy.  In 
front  of  him  sat,  as  canonical  assessors,  the  two  legates, 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  143 

Aleander  and  Caraccioli ;  while  above  them  was  the 
young  emperor,  in  whose  bold  ambition  the  hopes  and 
fears  of  nations  had  already  read  auguries  of  his  future 
renown,  surrounded  by  the  ecclesiastical  nobility  and 
feudal  barons  of  the  Germanic  states.  A  more  im- 
posing tribunal  never,  perhaps,  clothed  itself  with  the 
judicial  function,  or  proceeded,  under  legal  form,  to 
perpetrate  upon  an  individual,  strong  only  in  his  own 
integrity,  an  act  of  injustice  that  was  surpassed  by  no- 
thing but  the  folly  and  national  degradation  which  it 
involved. 

The  duty  of  interrogating  Luther,  as  to  the  charges 
preferred  against  him,  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  imperial 
orator,  Eyk,  who  was  also  vicar-general  of  the  arch- 
bishop of  Treves.  The  similitude  of  names,  which, 
indeed,  under  the  Latin  form,  Eccius,  are  identical,  has 
led  some  writers  carelessly  to  confound  this  official  with 
the  early  and  persevering  adversary  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, Eck,  of  scurrilous  memory.  By  direction  of  the 
emperor,  Luther  was  asked,  first,  whether  he  acknow- 
ledged the  books  which  had  been  so  widely  circulated 
throughout  Germany  under  his  name ;  and,  secondly, 
whether  he  would  now  retract  or  disavow  their  con- 
tents. In  these  inquiries,  the  real  point  at  issue  was 
assumed ;  namely,  that  the  tenets  avowed  by  Luther 
were  heretical,  and  worthy  to  be  punished.  Before 
he  could  reply,  SchurfT,  one  of  his  Wittenberg  asso- 
ciates, demanded  the  names  of  the  works  in  question  ; 
and  their  titles  being  enumerated  by  the  orator,  Luther 
answered,  that  of  the  volumes  then  before  the  diet, 
some  were  merely  designed  to  inculcate  the  Christian 
faith  and  morals,  which  he  was  allowed,  even  by  his 
accusers,  to  have  done- in  a  Scriptural  and  profitable 


144  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

manner.  To  retract  those  portions  of  his  writings, 
would,  he  stated,  be  equivalent  to  a  denial  of  princi- 
ples upon  which  all  parties  agreed,  and  which  were, 
indeed,  essential  to  the  order  and  welfare  of  society. 
In  others  of  his  productions  he  had  waged  war  against 
the  abuses  of  the  Papacy,  and  those  spurious  doctrines 
by  means  of  which  the  priesthood  had,  for  centuries, 
impoverished  the  people,  fettered  their  reason,  de- 
praved their  moral  sense,  and  assisted  to  destroy  their 
souls.  To  recall  the  sentiments  to  which  he  had 
given  expression  on  these  matters  would  only  tend  to 
aggravate  the  burden  which  was  already  insupportable, 
and  lend  his  aid  to  perpetuate  a  tyranny  which  was  as 
odious  to  himself  as  it  was  grinding  and  destructive  to 
the  poor.  The  remainder  of  his  publications,  having 
been  chiefly  composed  in  the  heat  of  controversy  with 
writers  who  had  attempted  to  vindicate  the  pollutions 
of  the  Romish  Church,  and  to  suppress  the  true  faith 
of  Christianity,  might,  he  admitted,  have  been  charac- 
terized by  a  too  vehement  and  acrimonious  spirit.  At 
the  same  time,  he  contended  that  even  such  of  his 
tracts  as  belonged  to  the  latter  class  he  was  not  bound 
to  cancel ;  inasmuch,  as  by  so  doing  he  might  be 
thought  to  afford,  at  least,  a  tacit  approbation  of  prac- 
tices which  were  abhorrent  to  all  Scripture  and  reli- 
gion. "  I  am,  indeed,"  he  continued,  "  only  a  man  ; 
I  pretend  to  no  infallibility ;  nor  can  I  better  defend 
the  opinions  which  I  hold  than  in  the  words  of  my 
divine  Saviour,  who,  when  he  was  interrogated  of  his 
doctrine  by  the  high  priest,  and  smitten  by  a  slave, 
said,  '  If  I  have  spoken  evil  bear  witness  of  the  evil.' 
If  the  Lord  himself,  he  who  could  not  err,  did  not  hes- 
itate to  invite  the  testimony  against  his  word  of  even 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  145 

a  rude  menial,  how  much  more  ought  I,  who  am  but 
dust  and  ashes,  and  who  may  easily  fall  into  error,  to 
be  willing  to  hear  what  any  man  can  advance  against 
the  doctrine  I  have  taught.  By  the  mercy  of  God, 
therefore,  I  adjure  your  imperial  majesty,  and  the 
illustrious  princes  here  present,  to  bid  any  person,  who 
is  able,  be  he  of  high  or  of  low  degree,  to  examine  me 
as  to  my  belief ;  and  show,  if  it  be  possible,  by  the 
Scriptures  of  the  prophets  and  apostles,  that  I  have 
been  deceived.  Convince  me  from  Scripture  that  I 
have  erred,  and,  not  content  with  merely  retracting  my 
errors,  I  will  be  the  first  to  cast  the  books  which  con- 
tain them  into  the  flames." 

This  characteristic  address  was  delivered  in  a  low 
and  humble  tone,  without  any  vehemence  or  violence, 
but  with  gentleness  and  mildness,  and  in  a  manner 
unequivocally  expressive  of  the  respect  due  to  those 
before  whom  he  stood,  on  account  of  their  rank  and 
station.  He  was  no  passionate  enthusiast.  His  feel- 
ings were  strong ;  but  he  held  them  in  perfect  con- 
trol. When,  for  the  interests  of  truth,  he  saw  that  it 
was  the  time  to  speak  forth  the  deep  and  mighty  in- 
dignation of  his  soul  against  those  corruptions  which, 
if  he  were  right,  hindered  the  access  of  the  sinner  to 
his  Saviour,  obscured  the  glory  of  the  most  high  God, 
and  were  the  occasion  of  the  spiritual  slaughter  of 
multitudes,  he  did  so  upon  principle.  And  if  some- 
times he  exceeded  the  limits  which  controversialists 
are  now  expected  to  observe,  be  it  remembered  that 
he  was  only  a  man,  and  that  a  larger  license  was  al- 
lowed than  at  present :  let  it  likewise  be  remembered 
that,  if  he  were  right,  no  language  is  sufficient  to  ex- 
press the  mischief  which  the  Papacy  occasioned,  nor 
7 


146  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

the  atrocity  of  those  crimes  of  which  its  determined 
abettors  were  guilty.  If  he  rightly  understood  the 
Scripture,  instead  of  saving  souls  from  death,  their  life 
was  spent  in  destroying  them. 

On  the  present  occasion,  however,  his  address  was 
calm,  though  earnest ;  and,  though  full  of  caution,  yet 
sincere,  manly,  and  respectful.  When  he  had  finished 
speaking,  he  was  told  by  Eyk  that  he  had  only  travel- 
led from  the  question,  to  which  he  was  expected  to 
give  an  unequivocal  and  direct  reply.  It  was  then 
that  the  mighty  heart  of  the  reformer,  filled  with  a 
feeling  of  the  profound  responsibilities  of  his  situation, 
and  supported,  surely,  by  a  more  than  human  energy, 
conceived  an  answer  which,  for  pregnant  solemnity 
and  calm  heroism,  is,  beyond  all  other  words  in  mo- 
dern history,  sublime.  "  Since,  then,"  he  said,  "  your 
imperial  majesty,  and  your  highnesses,  now  assembled, 
require  a  plain,  simple,  and  brief  answer,  I  will  render 
one,  without  reservation  or  evasion.  Unless  I  shall 
be  convinced  by  the  testimony  of  Scripture,  or  by 
other  and  manifest  reasons,  (for  upon  the  authority  of 
popes  and  councils  alone  I  cannot  rely,  since  it  is  clear 
that  they  have  often  erred,  and  even  contradicted  one 
another,)  I  neither  can  nor  will  revoke  anything  that  I 
have  written,  seeing  that  to  act  against  conscience  is 
neither  safe  nor  honest.  Here  I  stand  :  I  can  do 
no  other  :  God  help  me  !     Amen." 

Great  and  brave  man !  If  ever  was  illustrated  the 
admonition  and  the  promise  of  our  Saviour  to  his  dis- 
ciples, that  when  they  should  stand  accused  before 
magistrates  and  powers  for  his  sake,  it  should  be  given 
them  in  the  same  hour  what  they  should  speak,  it  was 
in  the  case  of  Luther,  at  the  Diet  of  Worms.    Upon  his 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  147 

words  hung  not  alone  the  intellectual  and  religious 
liberties  of  Europe,  but,  indeed,  humanly  speaking,  we 
may  add,  the  circulation  of  the  gospel  in  the  world, 
and  the  eternal  happiness  of  millions,  who,  but  for  the 
unflinching  intrepidity  of  Luther,  might  never  have  had 
access  to  the  records  of  divine  truth.  He  himself, 
when  referring  to  this  event  not  long  before  his  death, 
seems  to  have  been  astonished  at  his  own  firmness. 
"  It  is  thus,"  he  remarked,  "  that  God  gives  us  strength 
for  the  occasion :  but  I  doubt  whether  I  should  now 
be  equal  to  such  a  task." 

Some  private  conferences  with  the  archbishop  of 
Treves,  and  others  of  the  more  liberal  members  of  the 
diet,  ensued,  in  which  various  efforts  were  made  to 
shake  the  constancy  of  Luther,  and  induce  him  to  re- 
scind some,  at  least,  of  his  obnoxious  declarations ; 
and  when,  at  length,  the  prelate,  finding  him  inexorable, 
demanded  what  remedy  he  would  propose  for  the  dis- 
sensions which  had  so  long  divided  and  imbittered  the 
puplic  mind  of  Germany,  he  responded  in  the  words 
of  Gamaliel,  upon  a  very  similar  occasion,  "  If  this 
work  be  of  men,  it  will  come  to  naught ;  but  if  it  be 
of  God,  ye  cannot  overthrow  it."  Persons  were  not 
wanting  to  incite  the  emperor  to  violate  the  pledge  of 
security  under  which  Luther  had  been  drawn  to 
Worms  ;  but  the  more  independent  members  of  the 
diet  instantly  took  the  alarm.  "  The  death  of  John 
Huss,"  exclaimed  the  elector  palatine,  "has  brought 
too  many  calamities  on  Germany  for  us  to  think  of 
again  erecting  a  like  scaffold."  Even  Duke  George 
of  Saxony,  firmly  as  he  adhered  to  the  ancient  sys- 
tem, exclaimed,  "  The  German  princes  will  not  endure 
the  violation  of  a  safe-conduct.     Such  perfidy  befits 


148  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

not  the  ancient  good  faith  of  the  Germans."*  Even 
the  subtle  and  ambitious  Charles,  cold  as  he  was  in 
reference  to  genuine  Christian  virtue,  uniting  the 
phlegm  of  the  Spaniard  and  Fleming  with  the  cun- 
ning and  dissimulation  of  the  Italian,  saw  that  it 
would  not  do  to  stain  the  commencement  of  his  rule 
by  an  outrage  of  such  perfidious  atrocity  ;  and,  perhaps 
apprehensive  of  the  consequences,  he  contented  him- 
self with  ordering  the  reformer  to  quit  the  city,  which 
he  did  on  the  26th  of  April. 

*  It  was  reserved  for  more  modern  times,  for  the  O'Learys  of 
Popery  to  deny  that  the  safe-conduct  was  violated :  a  denial  in- 
volving as  direct  a  breach  of  truth,  as  the  violation  itself  was  of 
all  Christian  honour  and  integrity. 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  149 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  description  given  of  Luther  in  the  penal  edict 
of  Worms  is  characteristic  of  the  malignant  ingenuity 
of  his  Papist  foes.  By  way  of  justifying  the  severe 
denunciations  which  ensue,  he  is  there  represented, 
not  only  as  a  rebel  against  the  pontifical  tiara,  and  a 
contumacious  heretic,  but  as  a  wretch  who,  himself 
leading,  instructed  others  also  to  lead  a  sensual  and 
licentious  life  ;  who  openly  despised  all  laws,  whether 
of  divine  or  human  origin ;  and  was,  in  short,  little 
better  than  the  incarnate  spirit  of  evil,  arrayed  in  the 
habiliments  of  an  Austinian  friar.  On  account  of  these 
and  kindred  enormities,  sentence  of  outlawry,  within 
the  imperial  dominions,  is  decreed  to  take  effect  upon 
him  after  twenty-one  days  from  the  date  of  his  depart- 
ure from  the  diet.  All  persons  who  might  thereafter 
be  guilty  of  reading,  printing,  or  distributing  any  of  his 
writings,  or  who,  in  any  manner  whatsoever,  should 
countenance,  harbour,  or  abet  him,  were  to  incur  the 
same  penalty  which  attached  to  himself ;  while  every 
subject  of  the  emperor  was  charged  to  aid  in  capturing 
or  destroying  him. 

This  act  of  secular  excommunication  was,  however 
destined  to  be  fully  as  innocuous  as  had  been  the  ec- 
clesiastical proscription  which  it  proposed  to  carry  into 
execution.  The  herald  who,  by  direction  of  the  em- 
peror, escorted  Luther  on  his  way  homeward  as  far  as 
Friedberg,  had  scarcely  quitted  him,  when  (on  the  3d 
ol  May,  1521,)  his  party  was  suddenly  surrounded  by 
a  number  of  armed  horsemen,  wearing  masks,  who 


150  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER 

seized  and  hurried  him  away,  through  the  forest  of 
Thuringia,  to  the  old  castle  of  Wartburg,  a  fortress  situ- 
ated among  the  mountains,  not  far  from  Eisenach, 
which  had  formerly  been  a  residence  of  the  land- 
graves of  the  district.  Whether  this  seizure  was  made 
in  accordance  with  a  scheme  which  had  been  pre- 
viously concerted  between  the  reformer  and  his  watch- 
ful prince  and  patron,  the  elector,  is  unknown  ;  but  as 
it  was  clearly  the  object  of  Frederic  to  keep  himself 
out  of  sight  in  the  transaction,  and  by  leaving  the 
friends  of  Luther  in  ignorance  of  his  precise  destina- 
tion, to  deprive  his  enemies  of  all  possible  clew  to  it, 
we  are  not  much  inclined  to  believe  that  Luther  was 
privy  to  the  design.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  circum- 
stance is  at  least  illustrative  of  the  provident  care  of 
the  electoral  sovereign  for  the  life  and  interests  of  his 
illustrious  subject. 

During  his  seclusion  in  the  mountain  fortress  of 
Wartburg,  Luther  was  neither  idle  nor  forgetful  of  the 
infant  cause  to  which  he  had  dedicated  all  the  ener- 
gies of  his  active  and  virtuous  mind.  From  that  re- 
treat, which  he  called  "  Patmos,"  "  the  Desert,"  and 
other  names  indicative  of  solitude  and  exile,  issued  his 
"Tract  on  Auricular  Confession,"  one  of  the  most 
valuable  of  his  minor  works  ;  which  was  followed  by 
a  "  Letter  to  the  Students  of  Erfurt,"  on  respect  to  the 
clergy ;  and  several  other  treatises,  written  with  his 
accustomed  vigour.  But  of  all  the  labours  which  en- 
gaged him  in  this  season  of  retirement,  the  most  memo- 
rable is  his  masterly  exposure  of  the  sinfulness  and 
folly  of  monastic  vows  ;  a  discourse  which  well  de- 
serves to  be  known,  as  an  antidote  to  the  unnatural 
pretexts  upon  which  the  whole  system  of  conventual 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  151 

life  is  founded.  The  interest  with  which  these  per- 
formances were  received  by  the  German  nation  was, 
no  doubt,  vividly  enhanced  by  the  curious  sympathy 
which  their  author's  disappearance  had  excited.  But 
notwithstanding  his  exemplary  diligence  during  the 
nine  months  of  his  sojourn  at  Wartburg,  the  monotony 
of  his  pursuits  conspired,  with  a  fear  of  injury  occur- 
ring to  the  new-born  Reformation  at  Wittenberg,  to 
render  him  impatient  of  the  friendly  restraint  that  was 
laid  upon  him. 

Meantime,  the  Augustinians  of  that  city,  reassured 
by  the  appearance  of  these  tracts,  and  the  letters  which 
from  time  to  time  found  their  way  to  Melancthon  and 
the  chief  members  of  their  body,  took  the  first  step  to- 
ward effecting  a  general  change  in  the  ceremonial  of 
public  worship,  by  allowing  the  communicants  to  par- 
take of  both  elements  in  the  sacrament,  (the  Roman 
ritual  withholding  the  cup  from  the  laity,)  and  abolish- 
ing the  private  celebration  of  masses.  To  the  latter  of 
these  reforms,  which  disposed  of  one  of  the  most  lucra- 
tive and  disgraceful  sources  of  revenue  to  the  Roman 
clergy,  succeeded  an  abandonment  of  the  usage  of  beg- 
ging for  the  order ;  and,  finally,  a  formal  recognition 
of  the  guilt  and  worthlessness  of  conventual  vows,  and 
the  enforced  celibacy  of  priests. 

While  the  fruits  of  his  former  exertions  were  thus 
disclosing  themselves  at  Wittenberg,  and  while  other 
places  in  Germany  were  preparing  to  imitate  the  ex- 
ample of  that  town,  a  new  and  remarkable  antagonist 
had  started  against  Luther,  in  the  character  of  a  re- 
spondent to  the  dissertation  on  the  "  Babylonish  Cap- 
tivity ot  the  Church."  Henry  VIII.  of  England,  who, 
in  early  life,  had  cultivated  an  acquaintance  with  the 


152  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

scholastic  divinity,  and  especially  with  the  solemn  per- 
plexities of  Thomas  Aquinas,  scandalized  at  the  irre- 
verent dealing  of  Luther  with  his  favourite  theologian, 
resolved  to  inflict  due  chastisement  on  the  Saxon 
heresiarch,  and  with  that  view  composed  his  Treatise 
on  the  Seven  Sacraments.  This  composition,  which 
has  long  been  forgotten,  was  not  without  the  merit  of 
a  certain  dialectical  ingenuity,  mixed  with  much  native 
shrewdness,  and  considerable  learning.  As  the  off- 
spring of  a  kingly  pen,  it  was  hailed  at  Rome  with 
rapturous  applause,  and  rewarded  by  the  pope  in  full 
consistory,  conferring  upon  the  royal  author  the  title  of 
"  Defender  of  the  Faith ;"  a  title  which  subsequent 
events  converted  into  a  monument  of  the  short-sighted- 
ness of  the  infallible  popedom,  and  which,  since  the 
days  of  Elizabeth,  has  been  borne  with  better  right  by 
his  successors  on  the  British  throne.  But  while  the 
sacred  college  thus  recorded  its  admiration  of  the  royal 
disputant,  Luther  replied  to  him  with  the  most  con- 
temptuous acerbity.  He  treated  the  king,  indeed,  with 
far  less  show  of  forbearance  and  civility  than  any 
other  of  his  numerous  opposers.  The  tone  of  his  re- 
joinder is  so  singularly  and  unnecessarily  severe,  as  to 
have  sometimes  drawn  upon  him  considerable  cen- 
sure. If,  however,  we  consider  that  he  might  naturally 
look  upon  Henry  VIII.  as  a  gratuitous  intruder  on  the 
province  of  polemical  speculation,  and  further,  that  he 
had  probably  anticipated  for  his  tenets  a  more  auspi- 
cious reception  in  England,  the  bold  asperity  of  his 
strictures  on  the  ponderous  trifle  of  his  crowned  assail- 
ant will  be  seen  to  furnish  little  matter  of  surprise. 

The  months  which  Luther  spent  in  his  "  Patmos " 
were  very  eventful  ones.     Leo  wished  to  avail  himself 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  153 

of  the  rivalry  between  Charles  and  Francis,  so  as  to 
expel  the  French  from  Italy ;  hoping,  at  the  same 
time,  that  the  power  of  the  emperor  would  be  so  re- 
duced in  the  contest,  that  he,  too,  would  be  confined 
to  his  ultramontane  provinces.  Charles,  likewise,  had 
been  successful  in  attaching  Cardinal  Wolsey  to  his 
interests,  and  thus  of  securing  the  friendship  of  Henry 
VIII.  Wolsey  aspired  to  the  Papacy,  and  the  re- 
served, artful,  ambitious,  and  unprincipled  emperor  had 
bribed  him,  by  leading  him  to  expect,  on  the  next 
vacancy,  that  the  whole  influence  of  Germany  and 
Spain,  in  the  conclave,  should  be  exerted  in  his  behalf. 
For  a  time  the  plansof  Leo  were  successful.  The 
imperial  forces  in  Italy  defeated  those  of  France,  bat- 
tle after  battle.  And  as  at  the  same  time  Spain  was 
agitated  by  civil  commotions  of  the  most  serious  cha- 
racter, the  attention  of  Charles  was  diverted  from  the 
religious  affairs  of  Germany,  while  that  of  Leo  was 
chiefly  directed  to  his  political  schemes  in  favour  of 
Italy.  The  principles  of  the  Reformation,  therefore, 
were  spreading,  germinating,  and  bearing  fruit,  almost 
without  notice  ;  certainly  without  those  checks  which, 
under  less  favourable  circumstances,  they  would  have 
experienced.  This  was  indeed  the  hand  of  God ; 
and  these  providential  opportunities  were  prolonged 
by  the  death  of  Leo,  early  in  December,  1521,  and 
by  the  intrigues  which  followed,  and  which  resulted 
in  the  election  of  Adrian  of  Utrecht  to  the  Papal 
throne.  The  new  pontiff  had  been  the  tutor  of 
Charles,  and  was  now  his  regent  in  Spain.  Some 
time  elapsed,  therefore,  before  his  election  could  be 
notified  to  him ;  and  even  then,  a  considerable  period 
elapsed  before  he  entered  Rome,  and  engaged  per- 
7* 


154  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

sonally  in  the  direction  of  ecclesiastical  and  public 
affairs. 

Luther,  meanwhile,  although  in  retirement,  was  not, 
as  we  have  seen,  idle.  It  was  while  at  Wartburg 
that  he  prepared  his  first  sketch  of  a  translation  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  the  five  books  of  Moses.  But 
from  this  undertaking  he  was  for  a  short  time  diverted 
by  circumstances  which  suddenly  recalled  him  from 
the  obscurity  of  his  mountain  retreat.  Not  unobserv- 
ant of  the  changes  which,  during  his  absence,  had 
been  brought  about  in  Wittenberg,  he  appears  to  have 
been  apprehensive  of  the  zeal  of  his  followers  outrun- 
ning their  discretion ;  and  hence  had  arisen  various 
misgivings  which,  for  some  few  months  before  he 
finally  resolved  to  return,  and  take  the  direction  of 
affairs  into  his  own  hands,  had  not  a  little  disturbed 
his  peace.  But  when  at  length  intelligence  reached 
him  of  the  appointment  to  the  university,  in  which  he 
still  retained  his  official  rank,  of  a  professor  of  the 
canon  law,  (that  law  which  was  the  very  implement 
and  mainstay  of  the  Roman  predominance,)  he  felt  that 
no  amount  of  personal  risk  ought  any  longer  to  detain 
him  in  his  voluntary  captivity.  To  the  great  delight, 
therefore,  of  his  partisans,  early  in  March,  1522,  after 
a  concealment  of  ten  months,  he  returned  to  Witten- 
berg, where,  notwithstanding  the  satisfaction  which 
he  must  have  realized  in  finding  how  firmly  his  doc- 
trines had  become  rooted  in  the  public  mind,  his  pre- 
sence was  by  no  means  undesirable  or  needless.  It 
would  seem  that  Carlostadt  and  others,  in  their  eager- 
ness to  abolish  all  remnant  of  the  ancient  superstition, 
had  proceeded  to  extremities  which  Luther  was  far 
from  deeming  either  necessary  or  expedient.     Among 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  155 

other  things,  hasty  reformers  had  swept  the  churches  of 
the  pictures  and  images  which  had  long  adorned  ther* 
and  which  Luther  (while  none  of  his  disciples  moi-e 
loudly  than  himself  condemned  the  sin  of  offering  to 
those  effigies  idolatrous  honours)  would  have  retained  for 
the  present  as  suitable  emblems  and  monumental  tokens 
of  the  capital  events  in  sacred  history.  The  shrines  of 
saints,  and  everything  else  which  ostensibly  tended  to 
perpetuate  the  actual  worship  either  of  the  idol,  or  its 
archetype,  he  was  resolutely  bent  on  removing ;  but 
he  held,  nevertheless,  that  the  visible  representation 
of  passages  in  the  life  of  the  Saviour  and  apostles 
was  capable  of  being  turned  to  good  account,  as  a 
mode  of  impressing  on  the  popular  feelings  and  imagi- 
nation many  of  the  cardinal  and  most  interesting  facts 
connected  with  the  mysterious  story  of  man's  redemp- 
tion. But  another  and  more  serious  point  of  difference 
between  the  reformer  and  his  injudicious  ally,  Carlo- 
stadt,  was  the  indiscriminate  administration,  by  the 
latter,  of  the  eucharist  to  all  who  desired  to  participate 
of  that  sacrament.  Adhering  to  his  original  and  em- 
phatic opinion,  of  the  necessity  of  faith  to  the  benefi- 
cial reception  of  the  sacred  elements,  Luther  consider- 
ed also  that  there  was  something  akin  to  profanation 
in  admitting  persons  to  communicate  without  solemn 
preparation,  and  an  assurance  of  their  individual  wor- 
thiness and  aptitude  to  profit  by  the  ordinance.  But, 
apart  from  this  wise  and  wholesome  caution,  he  was 
at  variance  with  his  former  colleague  and  supporter  on 
the  anxious  question  of  the  real  presence.  The  literal 
existence  in  the  bread  and  wine,  of  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ,  Carlostadt  utterly  repudiated  ;  while  Luther, 
on  the  other  hand,  rejecting  the  Popish  notion  of  the 


156  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

absolute  transformation  of  the  material  signs  into  the 
veritable  substance  of  the  divine  person  whose  medi- 
atorial death  they  were  designed  to  commemorate,  still 
held  that  substance  to  be  actually  attendant  on,  and  in 
some  unintelligible  manner  blended  with,  the  conse- 
crated symbols.     This  singular  and  unreasonable  con- 
ception of  the  quality  and  import  of  the  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  supper  was  one  of  the  few  vestiges  of  an 
outworn  and  abandoned  creed  which  haunted  the  mas- 
culine sense  of  the  chief  reformer.     It  was,  in  fact, 
only  a  mitigated,  and  not  less  delusive  form  of  the  Ro- 
manist error ;  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  had  the 
idea  of  consubstantiation  been  far  better  authenticated 
than  it  could  be  shown  to  be,  and  of  vastly  graver  mo- 
ment as  an  article  of  faith,  no  consideration  could  have 
fully  justified  the  ungenerous  and  harsh,  not  to  say 
oppressive,  means  which  Luther  made  use  of  to  repress 
the    supposed  heterodoxy  of  Carlostadt.      It   is   not 
indeed  literally  true,  as  sometimes  has  been  alleged, 
that,  unsatisfied  with  displacing  that  rash  innovator 
from  his  pastoral  charge,  Luther  procured  his  ejection 
from  the  university.     On  the  contrary,  it  was  at  his 
own  will  that  Carlostadt  resigned  his  offices  of  pro- 
fessor and  archdeacon,  and  withdrew  from  Wittenberg  ; 
but  not  until  those  places  had  been  rendered  intolerable, 
by  a  series  of  annoyances  which,  to  say  the  least  of 
them,  bordered  on  contumely  and  persecution.     It  is 
with  unaffected  regret  that  we  record  a  passage  so 
little  in  concord  with  the  general  height  and  dignity 
of  Luther's  character.     But  without  seeking  to  palliate 
what  admits  of  no  vindication,  we  are  bound  to  state 
that  the  final  motive  of  a  conduct  so  unworthy  of  the 
liberator  of  his   country  and  his  race  must  be  sought 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  157 

for  in  that  sensitive  and  vigilant  jealousy  of  tne  grand 
solemnities  of  religion,  which,  seeing  in  Carlostadt  a 
tendency  to  divest  a  principal  and  hallowed  rite  of  its 
appropriate  sanctity,  and  to  bring  it  down  to  the  level  of 
a  mere  ceremonial  usage,  was  but  too  liable  to  be  push- 
ed into  austerity  and  excess.  If  we  duly  weigh  the 
delicate  and  critical  posture  of  the  young  church  of  the 
Reformation,  and  bear  in  mind  the  imminent  peril  of 
doing  too  much, — of  removing  things  worthy  of  holiest 
and  perpetual  preservation  along  with  the  abuses  that 
have  gathered  over  and  enshrouded  them, — which  is 
incident  to  every  transition  from  a  state  of  general  pra- 
vation  to  one  of  renovated  purity  and  health,  we  may 
be  taught  to  judge  tenderly  of  the  influences  which,  in 
a  situation  of  exquisite  difficulty  and  some  danger,  be- 
trayed a  noble  heart  into  the  rare  commission  of  osten- 
sible injustice. 

On  his  return  to  Wittenberg,  Luther  had  judged  it 
proper  to  write  to  the  elector  an  account  of  the  reasons 
which  had  drawn  him  forth  from  his  place  of  safety 
and  concealment.  His  letter  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
native  courage  which  distinguished  him,  ennobled  and 
invigorated  by  a  reverent  confidence  in  the  providen- 
tial protection  of  a  Being  higher  than  the  kings  of  this 
world.  In  it  he  expresses  his  conviction  that  in 
coming  again  among  his  people,  he  was  following  the 
indications  of  that  divine  will  which  he  ever  sought  to 
make  the  rule  and  guide  of  his  motions.  In  his  ab- 
sence, he  observes,  that  Satan  had  been  busy  with  his 
flock,  and  alludes  particularly  to  his  grand  project  of 
a  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  vernacular 
tongue ;  in  executing  which,  he  states  himself  to  be 
in  want  of  the  assistance  of  his  learned   and  pious 


158  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

brethren.  With  the  aid  chiefly  of  Melancthon,  that 
gigantic  and  beneficent  enterprise  was,  by  dint  of  ex- 
emplary and  indefatigable  industry,  completed  within 
the  space  of  a  few  succeeding  months  ;  and  the  year 
1523  is  illustrious  in  the  annals  of  Christendom  for  the 
publication  of  the  first  entire  version  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  in  a  living  language,  that  was  ever 
given  to  any  of  the  countries  of  continental  Europe. 

The  general  character  of  the  Lutheran  Bible  is  well 
known,  and  the  work  has  always  been  held  in  high 
esteem  for  its  faithful  transcription  of  the  meaning  and 
spirit  of  the  original.  With  extreme  simplicity  and 
idiomatic  plainness  of  expression,  it  reflects  the  pre- 
cise and  often  profound  significance  of  the  sacred 
canon  with  a  rare  and  admirable  felicity  ;  and,  on  the 
whole,  it  may,  perhaps,  be  justly  thought  to  have  fallen 
short  of  the  excellence  of  no  similar  work  extant,  ex- 
cept our  own  incomparable  translation  of  the  same 
hallowed  pages.  The  version  of  the  Psalms,  espe- 
cially, belongs  to  the  highest  order  of  meritorious  tra- 
ductions. It  evinces  such  an  intimate  familiarity  with 
the  involved  power  and  subtle  implications  which 
characterize  the  phrase  of  those  inspired  poems  ;  such 
an  apt  appreciation  of  the  pregnant  and  suggestive  in- 
timations which  belong  to  the  style  of  the  Hebrew 
lyrics  ;  and  such  a  deep,  sympathetic  intelligence  of 
their  informing  purpose,  and  the  labouring  conception 
of  their  writers,  ever  oppressed  and  almost  overwhelm- 
ed by  the  intrinsic  majesty  of  the  thoughts  that  arose 
within  them,  as  could  have  been  experienced  only  by 
minds  endowed  with  a  more  than  common  measure  of 
innate  poetry,  and  enriched  by  a  wise  and  devout  cul- 
ture of  those  sensibilities  which  minister  to  the  vir- 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  159 

tual  efficacy  and  manifest  loveliness  of  genuine,  prac- 
tical religion.  This  portion  of  the  work,  which,  in 
truth,  is  pervaded  not  more  visibly  by  evidences  of 
various  and  sound  learning,  than  by  tokens  of  a  self- 
diffident  humility  and  earnest  regard  for  the  spiritual 
information  and  welfare  of  its  readers,  might,  from  its 
internal  indications,  have  been  ascribed  almost  entirely 
to  Melancthon,  (with  whose  understood  qualities  of 
heart  it  is  in  beautiful  accordance,)  had  we  not  distinct 
testimony  that,  in  a  larger  degree  than  were  any  other 
parts  of  the  whole  performance,  it  was  the  unassisted 
product  of  Luther's  own  meditations  and  ability.  The 
exquisite  facility  and  gracefulness  with  which  the  so- 
lemn imagery  of  the  royal  singer  of  Israel  is  transfused 
into  the  German  idiom  are  not  a  little  remarkable  when 
we  remember  that  the  hymns  and  other  original  poetry 
of  Luther  are  uniformly  disfigure^by  the  faults  of 
ruggedness,  inelegance,  and  the  substitution  of  rude 
strength  for  harmonious  sweetness.  The  English 
reader  may  form  some  apprehension  of  the  merit  and 
precise  nature  of  the  value  of  Luther's  version  of  the 
Psalms,  when  he  is  told  that  in  point  of  beauty,  sus- 
tained dignity,  and  energetic  brevity  of  language,  com- 
mensurate to  the  deeper  force  of  the  Hebrew  model, 
it  bears  a  very  discoverable  affinity  to  the  fine  transla- 
tion of  Isaiah  by  Bishop  Lowth. 

Of  the  remaining  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  though 
the  sense  of  the  original  Scripture  is  everywhere 
transferred  with  scrupulous  fidelity,  the  "Wittenberg 
version  betrays  comparatively  little  of  that  extraordi- 
nary opulence  of  expression,  and  uplifting  of  the  trans- 
lator's spirit  to  the  full  height  of  his  "  great  argument," 
which  the  transcript  of  the  Psalms  develops.     It  is 


160  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

however,  as  we  have  said,  marked  throughout  by  sin- 
gular and  cauti&us  accuracy,  and  general  adherence  to 
the  best-authenticated  copies  of  the  prophetic  writings. 
Its  gravest  blemishes,  which,  after  all,  are  but  of  small 
account,  consist  in  an  occasional  preference,  without 
sufficient  cause  shown,  to  the  text  of  the  Septuagint, 
and  sometimes  of  the  Latin  Vulgate  ;  faults  which  may 
well  be  pardoned  to  men  who  were,  in  truth,  the  very 
pioneers  of  modern  Hebrew  scholarship,  and  the  reno- 
vators of  all  the  illustrative  and  collateral  branches  of 
Biblical  literature.  The  place  which  their  Bible  has 
maintained  for  upward  of  three  centuries  in  the  esti- 
mation of  Protestant  Europe  constitutes  the  surest 
voucher  for  its  fidelity  and  excellence  ;  while  it  is  open 
to  no  dispute  that  many  passages  of  the  original  Scrip- 
ture are  in  that  translation  given  with  an  adequacy  and 
striking  manifestation  of  the  real  import  of  Hebraic 
obscurities,  which'has  seldom  been  transcended. 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER  161 

CHAPTER  XL 

The  death  of  Leo  X.,  which  occurred,  as  we  have 
seen,  at  the  close  of  1521,  had  been  followed  by  the 
very  unexpected  elevation  to  the  pontificate  of  Adrian, 
cardinal  of  Utrecht ;  a  man  whose  learning  and  reli- 
gion were  such  as  the  cloister  could  produce.  Cor- 
dially satisfied  of  the  validity  of  the  Papal  empery, 
and  resolute  to  uphold  it  in  its  integrity  and  splendour, 
the  new  pope  was,  nevertheless,  aware  that  under  its 
shadow  there  had  grown  up  a  mass  of  clerical  abuses 
and  corruptions  which,  reflecting  scandal  on  the  Ro- 
man creed,  had  weakened,  and  in  many  cases  alienated, 
the  affections  of  all  classes  of  the  Christian  communi- 
ty, and  had  thus  prepared  the  way  for  the  more  willing 
reception  of  doctrines  such  as  tliose  preached  by 
Luther.  In  order,  therefore,  to  cure  the  evils,  the  ex- 
istence of  which  he  acknowledged,  he  projected  cer- 
tain administrative  reforms,  adapted  to  restrain  the 
indecent  cupidity  and  profligate  licenses  that  disgraced 
the  body  of  the  priesthood.  At  the  same  time  he  pro- 
posed to  disallow  that  indiscriminate  prostitution  of 
indulgences  which,  under  his  immediate  predecessors, 
had  universally  prevailed.  Had  Leo,  in  the  primal 
vigour  of  his  faculties,  and  with  the  full  influence  of 
his  eminent  fame,  addressed  himself  to  such  a  task, 
not  only  is  it  certain  that  he  might  to  a  great  extent 
have  succeeded  in  curbing  for  a  time  the  ostentatious 
impiety  which  brought  the  church  into  general  odium ; 
but  it  is  also  probable  that  by  a  vigorous  enforcement 
of  stringent  discipline,  and  an  unequivocal  excision 


162  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

of  the  dispensatory  prerogative,  he  would  indefinitely 
have  postponed  the  Reformation.  But  Adrian,  though 
sincere,  and  even  earnest  in  his  desire  to  remedy 
abuses,  to  remove  corruptions,  and  to  promote  the 
general  amendment  of  the  church,  soon  discovered  that 
it  was  more  easy  to  promise  than  to  perform.  Too  many 
of  his  own  court  were  interested  in  the  continuance 
of  the  evils  which  he  acknowledged  and  deplored,  for 
him  to  obtain  their  concurrence  in  the  reforms  which 
he  intended,  but  was  thus  unable  to  effect.  He,  as  far 
as  he  understood  it,  looked  at  religion,  and  wished  to 
promote  its  interests.  They  thought  of  nothing  less. 
What  to  the  people  were  abuses,  were  to  them  sources 
of  wealth ;  and  it  was  not  in  the  power  of  the  aged 
pontiff  to  infuse  his  own  spirit  into  the  ambitious,  lux- 
urious, avaricious,  and,  in  only  too  many  instances, 
skeptical  carding  and  prelates  by  whom  he  was  sur- 
rounded, and  wrariout  whose  cordial  c.o-operation  he 
himself  was  utterly  powerless.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  circumstances  of  that  remarkable  period, 
that  the  only  pope  who  appeared  to  be  sincerely  reli- 
gious (however  mistaken,  on  the  principles  of  Luther, 
his  religious  views  might  be)  was  for  that  very  reason 
despised  and  opposed.  Rome  did  not  want  a  Chris- 
tian pope  ;  and  when  Adrian  talked  of  endeavouring  to 
restore  the  ancient  discipline,  the  cardinals  listened 
with  contemptuous  astonishment,  pursued  their  own 
course,  and  compelled  the  unhappy  head  of  the  Chris- 
tian world  to  regret  his  elevation  to  a  throne  which 
his  honesty  rendered  him  unfit  to  fill.  The  only  effects 
of  his  acknowledgment  of  clerical  abuses  were,  on  the 
one  hand,  to  strengthen  the  cause  of  Lutheran  reform, 
by  furnishing  the  reformers  with  admissions  of  the 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  163 

truth  and  justice  of  their  often-repeated  charges  ;  and, 
on  the  other,  to  complete  the  alienation  of  his  selfish 
and  dishonest,  but  astucious,  counsellors.  One  of  the 
subjects  mooted  in  the  preparatory  consultations  of  the 
pontificate  was  the  old  sin  of  indulgences.  Deciding 
to  publish  a  bull,  declarative  of  the  real  sentiments  of 
the  see  in  relation  particularly  to  those  monstrous  pro- 
fanities, the  pope  was  warmly  advised  by  Cajetan  to 
explain  them  to  be  nothing  more  than  dispensations 
from  penances  imposed  by  ecclesiastical  authority. 
But  this  advice,  the  most  prudent  that  could  have  been 
given,  was  overruled  partly  by  the  stolid  sincerity  of 
Adrian's  private  belief  in  their  larger  validity,  and  still 
more  effectually  by  the  anticipative  fears  of  the  cleri- 
cal courtiers,  who,  in  the  abrogation  of  the  Clementine 
doctrine  respecting  the  plenary  efficacy  of  the  Papal 
pardons,  beheld  an  omen  of  the  approaching  downfall 
of  their  power,  in  its  very  citadel  and  centre.  The 
universal  pravation  of  manners  which,  having  rioted 
for  ages  in  the  strong-hold  of  the  Papacy,  had  been  fos- 
tered into  a  broader  and  shameless  licentiousness,  under 
the  luxurious  prodigality  of  the  late  pontiff,  had,  in 
truth,  so  utterly  outrooted  every  vestige  of  moral  re- 
straint from  the  entire  population  of  Italy,  that  to  have 
cut  away,  or  even  to  have  limited,  the  pretended  power 
of  absolution,  would  have  been  equivalent  to  a  seve- 
rance of  the  church's  last  hold  on  the  seared  con- 
science and  effete  sensibilities  of  the  multitude.  Stimu- 
lated by  long  tolerance,  and  the  example  of  a  thousand 
of  the  princely  impostors  who  scarcely  veiled  the 
immoralities  that  defiled  their  ecclesiastical  rank  under 
a  semblance  of  outward  decorum,  the  public  profligacy 
had  waxed  flagrant  and  obscene.     Vice  had  put  on  a 


164  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

bolder  front,  and  walked,  stark  and  blushless,  in  the 
sunshine.  Pardon  or  no  pardon,  tax  or  no  tax,  by  the 
church,  crime  was  a  thing  too  dominant  and  general  to 
be  held  in  check  by  the  legitimate  terrors  of  religion. 
It  had  gained  a  mastery  so  wide,  an  ascendence  over 
the  habitual  hopes,  thoughts,  and  projects  of  all  classes, 
so  binding  and  impulsive,  that  it  was  sure,  at  all  events, 
to  revel  unrestricted  and  regardless,  whether  the  privi- 
lege to  sin  with  impunity  should  continue  to  be  sold  or 
not.  At  the  same  moment,  there  still  lingered  in  the 
general  and  enslaved  condition  of  the  popular  feeling 
enough  of  hereditary  deference  for  the  claims  of  the 
popedom,  mingled  with  some  faint  relics  of  that  super- 
stitious foreboding  of  future  pain  which  is  never  absent 
from  a  state  of  ignorant,  but  not  unconscious,  impurity 
of  life,  to  beget  a  custom  of  submitting  to  be  mulcted 
in  the  price  of  supposititious  exemption  from  penal 
liability  and  danger.  The  people  would  have  remain- 
ed vicious  as  they  were,  spite  of  the  abolition  of 
these  precious  immunities ;  for  the  whole  frame  and 
being  of  Italian  society  was  steeped  to  the  very  lips 
in  various  and  inveterate  pollution ;  while  the  excision 
of  so  lucrative  an  article  of  commerce  would  have  pro- 
digiously impaired  the  revenues  of  the  Catholic  pri- 
mate ;  and,  shutting  up  all  hope  of  any  appreciable 
advantage  to  be  derived  from  a  form  of  obedience  to 
the  church,  would  also  have  imperilled  the  loss  of  Italy, 
by  mere  force  of  indifference  and  skepticism,  as  Ger- 
many had  been  already  lost  by  a  renovation  of  the 
pure  truth  of  Christianity. 

Such  being  the  ominous  doubts  which  overhung  the 
meditations  of  the  sacred  college,  Adrian  at  length  be- 
thought him  of  addressing  the  emperor,  recalling  to  his 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  165 

memoiy  the  disastrous  prevalence  of  heresy  among  his 
subjects,  and  prompting  him  to  put  in  force  the  vigor- 
ous edict  of  Worms.  Too  much  occupied  with  the 
double  business  of  allaying  a  formidable  insurrection 
which  had  recently  arisen  in  his  native  kingdom,  and 
attempting  to  forestall  the  threatened  mischances  of  a 
war  that  as  yet  showed  few  signs  of  soon  taking  a  de- 
cisive turn  in  his  favour,  to  give  personal  heed  to  the 
exhortations  of  the  pope,  Charles  was,  nevertheless, 
well-disposed  to  sanction  what  means  soever,  for  the 
suppression  of  the  growing  Reformation,  his  brother, 
and  temporary  viceroy,  the  archduke  Ferdinand,  should 
think  proper  to  employ.  The  latter  prince,  although 
not  untainted  with  the  acerb  bigotry  which  has  so 
commonly  and  unamiably  marked  the  royal  house  of 
Spain,  was  probably  careless  of  the  rise  of  the  Luthe- 
ran party,  except  so  far  as  it  might  indirectly  affect 
the  political  views  of  his  imperial  relation.  Pending 
the  instant  aspect  of  the  war  with  Francis  I.,  it  was 
of  material  importance  to  propitiate  a  continuance  of 
that  friendly  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  holy  see 
which  Leo  had,  just  before  his  death,  decidedly  exhi- 
bited toward  Charles  V. ;  and  while  the  numerous  ob- 
ligations conferred  on  Adrian  by  his  former  sovereign 
ensured  a  general  leaning  of  that  pontiff  to  the  interests 
of  the  emperor,  the  position  of  affairs  in  Europe  was  by 
far  too  critical  to  allow  of  any  trifling  with  the  wishes 
of  a  man  whose  office  bestowed  on  him  the  power,  if 
once  displeased,  to  work  irreparable  mischief  to  his 
benefactor. 

But  if  considerations  of  this  kind  may  be  supposed 
to  have  whetted  the  vague  and  unintelligent  animosity 
of  the  archduke,  as  of  his  brother,  to  the  Lutheran 


166  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

cause,  there  were  circumstances  in  the  domestic  state 
of  the  empire  which  made  an  attempt  to  enforce  the 
decree  of  the  Diet  of  Worms  too  dangerous  a  measure 
to  be  rashly  adventured  on.  Galled  and  outwearied 
by  the  numerous  exactions  and  severe  oppression 
heaped  upon  them  by  their  feudal  masters,  the  peasant- 
ry of  Suabia,  Wirtemberg,  Flanders,  and  other  districts, 
had  for  some  years  manifested  occasional  symptoms 
of  that  spirit  of  furious  resistance  which  was  only  to 
be  quenched  eventually  in  savage  and  sanguinary  battle. 
Similar  demonstrations  were  now  menaced,  especially 
in  Suabia  and  Thuringia,  where  the  popular  discon- 
tents were  not  a  little  fomented  by  the  frantic  declama- 
tions, and  pretensions  to  prophetic  inspiration,  of  a 
certain  fanatical  preacher,  of  the  name  of  Thomas 
Munzer.  This  person,  who  was  originally  a  Thurin- 
gian  curate,  had  been  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  en- 
thusiastic followers  of  Luther  ;  and,  more  lately,  a 
strenuous  promoter  of  the  ill-timed  intemperances  of 
Carlostadt.  One  of  the  main  inducements  to  the  re- 
former to  quit  the  secure  privacy  of  Wartburg,  had  been 
the  wild  professions  by  this  man  and  some  kindred 
lunatics  at  Wittenberg,  of  being  specially  inspired  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Melancthon,  indeed,  with  an  excess 
of  self-diffidence  which  is  not  often  combined  with  so 
many  noble  ingredients  as  were  mingled  in  his  nature, 
and  which  was  perhaps  his  characteristic  defect,  had 
hesitated  to  take  upon  himself  the  risk  of  pronouncing 
these  pretensions  to  be  spurious  and  delusive  ;  alleg- 
ing that  only  Luther  himself  was  competent  to  deter- 
mine how  far  they  were  entitled  to  credit.  For  this 
inaction  and  timidity  in  such  a  case  he  was  severely 
reproached  by  his  more  energetic  leader,  who,  mi«d- 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  167 

ful  of  the  apostolic  injunction,  to  "  try  the  spirits,"  lost 
no  time  in  rebuking  the  hallucinations  of  a  perverse 
and  weak  imagination.  Of  that  rebuke,  (which,  how- 
ever, does  not  appear  to  have  been  couched  in  terms 
of  peculiar  harshness,)  Munzer  would  seem  to  have 
retained,  through  the  rest  of  his  life,  an  imbittered  and 
vindictive  remembrance ;  as  the  various  pamphlets 
which  emanated  from  his  pen  during  the  next  two 
or  three  years  were  crowded  with  passages  of  insane 
scurrility  and  venomous  detraction  from  the  just  repu- 
tation of  his  quondam  guide  and  chieftain. 

These  events,  coupled  with  the  somewhat  inauspi- 
cious complexion  of  public  affairs  throughout  all  Europe, 
had  the  effect  of  teaching  the  imperial  vice-regent  the 
necessity  of  being  extremely  cautious  how  he  proceeded 
to  counteract  the  increasing  prevalence  of  the  Lutheran 
faith.  All  things  considered,  Ferdinand  concluded  that 
the  most  prudent  course  would  be,  by  the  authority  and 
with  the  approbation  of  the  emperor,  to  convoke  another 
meeting  of  the  diet ;  which  consequently  assembled  at 
Nuremberg,  in  November,  1522. 

By  this  time  the  New  Testament  had  been  translated 
into  the  German  language,  and  was  read  by  all  classes 
with  avidity.  Several  free  cities  likewise,  as  Nurem- 
berg, Frankfort,  and  Hamburg,  having  embraced  the 
opinions  of  Luther,  had  abolished  the  mass  ;  and  the 
elector  of  Bradenberg,  the  prince  of  Anhalt,  and  the 
dukes  of  Brunswick  and  Lunenberg,  had  become  the 
avowed  patrons  of  the  reformer,  and  countenanced  the 
preaching  of  evangelical  doctrines  to  their  subjects. 

When  the  diet  assembled  in  November,  (1522,)  at 
Nuremberg,  the  Papal  nuncio,  Cheregato,  admitted,  on 
behalf  of  Adrian,  the  existence  of  numerous  corruptions 


168  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

in  the  church,  and  promised  their  amendment.  He 
then  demanded,  on  behalf  of  the  pope,  that  the  rescript 
of  Worms  should  be  put  in  execution  forthwith,  and 
rigorously.  But  the  diet,  in  reply,  referred  to  the  in- 
crease of  the  followers  of  Luther,  and  to  the  prevailing 
discontent  at  the  exactions  of  Rome.  They  requested 
that  a  general  council  might  be  held  in  one  of  the  free 
cities  of  the  empire  ;  and  presented  a  list  of  a  hundred 
grievances,  of  which  they  required  redress.  The  Re- 
cess of  the  Diet,  published  in  March,  1523,  enjoined 
all  to  wait  with  patience  for  a  general  council,  and 
admonished  preachers  to  abstain  from  mere  matters  of 
controversy,  and  to  confine  themselves  to  the  plain  and 
instructive  truths  of  religion. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  disputes  between  the  emperor 
and  the  French  king  left  the  former  little  leisure  to 
attend  to  the  religious  affairs  of  Germany:  Luther, 
therefore,  and  his  friends,  continued  actively  engaged 
in  investigating,  publishing,  and  defending  the  truth. 
To  the  admissions  of  Adrian,  and  to  the  official  list  of 
grievances  presented  by  the  diet  of  the  empire,  they 
appealed  in  proof  of  the  correctness  of  their  own  asser- 
tions and  complaints. 

The  diet  had  called  for  a  general  council.  Whether 
this  requisition  would  have  been  successful,  even  had 
Adrian  continued  to  sway  the  ecclesiastical  sceptre,  is 
very  doubtful.  But  even  though  a  free,  wise,  honest, 
and  dispassionate  assembly  might  have  promoted  the 
religious  pacification  of  Germany,  there  would  have 
been  great,  if  not  insurmountable,  difficulty  in  consti- 
tuting such  a  tribunal  from  the  ecclesiastics  of  the 
period.  The  period,  too,  had  gone  by  for  conciliating 
the  reformers,  and  reclaiming  them  to  the  church  of 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  169 

Rome.  The  dispute  had  become  one  of  fundamental 
principle.  Even  had  Adrian  conceded  some  adminis- 
trative reforms,  the  system  that  remained  would  have 
been  altogether  at  variance  with  that  which  was  now 
held  by  Luther.  But  the  trial  was  not  made.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  year,  the  honest  but  mistaken  pontiff 
departed  this  life  ;  and  the  estimation  in  which  he  was 
held  at  Rome  will  easily  be  gathered  from  the  circum- 
stance that  during  the  night  which  succeedel  his  de- 
cease the  populace  adorned  the  house  of  his  chief 
physician  with  garlands,  and  placed  on  its  front 
the  significant  inscription,  To  the  deliverer  of  his 
country. 

8 


170  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


One  of  the  disappointed  candidates  for  the  pontifical 
dignity,  on  the  decease  of  Leo  X.,  it  has  been  already 
stated,  had  been  our  own  celebrated  and  ambitious 
countryman,  Wolsey.  The  grand  competition  had, 
indeed,  been  predicted  to  lie  between  him  and  the 
cardinal  de  Medici,  when  the  over-anxiety  of  either 
party  in  the  conclave,  to  defeat  the  hopes  of  its  rival, 
issued  in  the  election  of  Adrian.      9 

Charles,  during  his  visit  to  England,  in  the  year 
1520-1,  foreseeing  the  importance  of  establishing  an 
alliance  with  Henry  VIII.,  as  a  subsidiary  means  of 
harassing  the  movements  of  the  French  king,  appears 
to  have  won  to  his  purpose  the  full  influence  of  the 
cardinal  of  York,  by  promising  to  support  his  preten- 
sions to  the  ecclesiastical  purple,  in  the  event  of  Leo's 
demise.  That  Charles  ever  intended  to  fulfil  this  pro- 
mise is  exceedingly  doubtful :  that  he  never  actually 
attempted  to  promote  the  elevation  of  the  aspiring 
Englishman  is  certain.  Probably  he  feared  to  assist 
in  raising  to  a  position  so  formidable  as  ,was  then  the 
Roman  primacy,  a  man  whose  genius  and  diplomatic 
subtlety  were  not  exceeded  by  the  egregious  arrogance 
which  provoked  his  ultimate  degradation. 

The  close  of  Adrian's  short  tenure  of  the  pontificate 
threw  open  another  opportunity  of  contesting  the  sceptre 
of  the  church ;  and  the  unhappy  Wolsey  was  again 
tempted  to  seek  possession  of  the  more  than  regal 
authority  attached  to  it.  Had  he,  upon  this  second 
occasion,  been  cordially  supported  by  the  emperor,  it  is 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  171 

not  unlikely  that  the  British  prelate  might  have  realized 
the  consummation  of  those  superb  anticipations  which, 
failing  him  in  this  instance,  were  doomed  to  be  still 
more  emphatically  frustrated  before  his  death.  De- 
ceived by  Charles  V.,  as  by  more  than  one  of  the  rest 
of  his  expected  friends,  Wolsey  had  the  mortification 
to  witness  the  success  of  his  former  antagonist,  who, 
as  a  near,  though  illegitimate  relation  of  Leo  X.,  and 
possessing  a  character  very  different  from  the  honest 
simplicity  of  Adrian,  was  peculiarly  acceptable  to  the 
Italian  people.  To  the  English  cardinal,  indeed,  the 
promotion  of  Adrian  proved  doubly  unfortunate,  inas- 
much as  it  not  only  precluded  him  during  the  life-time 
of  that  pontiff  from  the  eminent  station  which  he 
coveted,  but,  by  exasperating  the  popular  aversion  of 
the  provinces  adjacent  to  the  seat  of  the  Papal  govern- 
ment to  an  ultramontane  ruler,  provided  the  majority  of 
the  conclave  with  a  plausible  excuse  for  refusing  him 
their  suffrage.  The  bastard  son  of  Julian  de  Medici 
accordingly  succeeded  without  difficulty  to  the  vacant 
throne  of  St.  Peter's.  The  hale  constitution  and  com- 
parative youth  of  Clement  were  such  as  to  leave  but 
small  chance  of  any  future  opening  to  the  sacred  chair 
for  a  personage  who,  but  for  his  exorbitant  vanity  and 
lust  of  domination,  might,  at  least,  have  had  a  place, 
through  all  ages,  in  the  foremost  rank  of  British  patriots 
and  statesmen. 

Than  between  Clement  VII.,  on  the  one  side,  with 
his  keen  faculties,  his  hereditary  boldness,  and  Machia- 
vellian policy,  and  the  senile  imbecility,  upon  the  other, 
of  the  pope  whom  he  succeeded,  a  broader  contrast  can 
hardly  be  imagined.  What  the  latter  had  regarded  as 
matters  of  exigent  and  cordial  desideration,  for  their 


172  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

own  sake, — the  purgation  of  the  church,  and  prompt 
removal  of  all  the  more  flagrant  causes  of  complaint 
against  the  practical  working  of  her  corrupt  economy, 
— Clement  would  never  have  troubled  himself  withal, 
had  not  the  actual  posture  of  things  in  Germany,  and 
elsewhere,  imperatively  called  for  speedy  and  ostensi- 
ble, if  not  real,  effectual,  and  permanent,  alteration. 
But  once  aroused  to  serious  deliberation  and  remedial 
effort,  the  blood  of  an  illustrious  ancestry  flowed  too 
warmly,  though  in  an  illegitimate  current,  through  his 
veins,  to  suffer  him  to  forfeit,  by  procrastination,  the 
advantages  of  time,  or  the  force  of  his  own  high  name 
and  public  repute,  by  infirmity  of  purpose  or  ambiguous 
operation.  That  something  must  be  done,  and  that  as 
swiftly  as  prudently,  to  prop  the  fractured  and  tottering 
fabric  of  ecclesiastical  domination,  was  palpably  evi- 
dent to  the  acute  perceptions  of  the  now  regnant 
pontiff.  Nor  is  it  easy  for  us,  with  our  just  and  deep 
horror  of  the  system  that  acknowledged  Clement  for 
its  arch-minister  and  organ,  fairly  to  estimate  the  prac- 
tical sagacity,  the  nice  calculation  of  the  varying  power 
of  human  motives,  the  shrewd  talent  of  accommodation 
to  existing  urgencies,  and,  above  all,  the  wondrous  per- 
fection in  the  art  of  giving  feasible  semblance  to  an 
illusory  and  hollow  affectation  of  probity,  which  cha- 
racterized the  projects  of  ecclesiastical  reform  avowed 
by  this  worthy  scion  of  the  wiliest  family  in  Europe. 
If  we  may  suffer  our  imagination  to  clothe  that  creature 
of  fraud  and  falsehood — of  crouching  superstition  in  its 
subjects,  and  tyrannical  aggression  on  the  side  of  its 
administrative  officers — with  an  ideal  personality ;  or 
to  conceive  of  Clement  VII.  as  a  sort  of  incarnation, 
for  the  time  being,  of  its  proper  spirit  and  propensions, 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  173 

under  the  action  of  a  particular  species  of  extraneous 
impulses  ;  the  popedom  will  be  seen  to  have  resembled, 
at  the  period  in  question,  some  individual  and  hoary- 
hypocrite,  who  having,  by  a  long  series  of  ingenious 
deceptions  and  covert  treachery,  raised  himself  to  the 
unjust  possession  of  enormous  affluence  and  power, 
begins  to  feel  that  the  elaborate  contrivances  of  years 
of  perfidy  and  guilt  are  crumbling  about  his  ears.  In 
such  cases,  when  they  occur  (as  only  too  often  they 
do  occur)  in  private  life,  it  is  amazing  how  vast  an 
amount  of  genius,  of  rich  and  multiform  ability,  is  not 
uncommonly  expended  in  the  desperate  endeavour  to 
reunite  the  broken  threads  in  the  complex  tissue  of 
villany,  to  stave  off  detection,  and  prevent  the  impend- 
ing ruin.  In  this  respect,  especially,  the  parallel  holds 
good :  for  although  it  would  consist  neither  with  cha- 
rity, nor  absolute  fairness,  to  impute  to  Clement,  pre- 
eminently and  apart  from  his  advisers,  a  clear  and 
adequate  consciousness  of  the  pravity  of  the  Roman 
see,  or  a  mere  interested  desire  to  perpetuate  the  im- 
posture and  the  wrong  which  he  thoroughly  compre- 
hended, and  knew  to  be  indefensible  ;  it  is  but  true, 
strictly  and  lamentably  true,  that  having  drunk  so 
deeply  of  the  demoralizing  influences  of  a  corrupt  po- 
lity, as  to  have  indefinitely  dulled  and  darkened  his 
moral  sense,  he  had,  besides,  and  not  unwillingly,  so 
identified  his  reason  and  his  very  nature  with  the 
intimate  and  base  quality  of  the  church  he  ruled,  as  to 
present  an  image  of  that  church,  in  its  crowned  pomp 
and  purple-clothed  grandeur,  grappling  corruption  to  its 
bosom,  and  wrestling  to  preserve  every  fragment  of  error 
that  was  not  utterly  rent  away  and  scattered  to  the  winds, 
as  with  the  frantic  affection  of  a  bereaved  mother. 


174  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

When  Clement  ascended  the  pontifical  throne,  Ger- 
many was  agitated  by  other  discontents  and  conflicts 
than  those  which  arose  from  theological  controversies. 
Society  was  passing  into  a  new  condition  and  form ; 
and  states  of  social  transition  are  seldom  states  of  quiet- 
ness. The  ancient  feudal  system  existed  in  many  of 
its  forms,  but  its  overthrow  was  certain  ;  and  the  rather 
so,  as  its  decrepitude  was  oppressively  tyrannical. 
Throughout  Europe,  the  peasantry,  as  well  as  the  in- 
habitants of  cities,  were  demanding  relief  from  the 
burdens  occasioned  by  the  remaining  customs  of  feu- 
dalism ;  and,  in  many  instances,  claiming  to  have  an 
acknowledged  political  existence.  In  Germany  great 
discontents  existed  among  the  peasants,  who  appear  to 
have  been,  in  too  many  instances,  oppressed  beyond 
human  endurance.  They  were,  practically,  serfs,  at- 
tached to  the  soil,  and  regarded  only  as  the  medium 
through  which  the  baronial  proprietors  had  to  procure 
the  wealth  which  they  expected  their  estates  to  furnish, 
and  which  was  generally  expended  far  from  those  from 
whose  incessant  toil  it  had  been  wrung.  Nobles  and 
clergy,  with  but  few  exceptions,  seem  to  have  been 
engaged  in  this  work  of  oppression.  Instead  of  feudal 
service  from  the  vassal,  gifts  and  contributions  were  in 
perpetual  demand ;  and  the  cultivators  of  the  ground 
felt  themselves  condemned  to  the  deepest  poverty,  and 
to  wearing  and  hopeless  toil. 

From  these  circumstances  sprang  what  is  termed 
"  the  war  of  the  peasants,"  and  which  the  enemies  of 
Protestantism  and  Luther  have  not  been  backward  in 
ascribing  to  his  own  revolt  from  the  ancient  authority 
of  the  church.  Unfortunately  for  this  charge,  the  in- 
surrection broke  out  in  parts  of  Germany  to  which  the 


LIFE  OP  MARTIN  LUTHER.  175 

opinions  of  Luther  had  not  extended  ;  and  during  the 
year  1524  was  chiefly  confined  to  the  Suabian  territo- 
ries. The  origin  of  the  movement — which  at  its  out- 
break, and  during  its  progress,  was  marked  by  a  fero- 
city evidently  excited  by  long-suppressed  hatred,  and 
which  sought  to  revenge  the  wrongs  which  had,  as 
was  alleged,  driven  them  to  rebellion — was  entirely 
political.  Had  Luther  never  preached,  these  disturb- 
ances would  still  have  burst  forth.  In  fact,  they  do  not 
seem  at  first  to  have  engaged  his  attention.  Subjects 
with  which  himself  was  more  immediately  concerned 
occupied  his  thoughts,  and  filled  up  all  his  time. 

In  the  spring  of  1524  the  ancient  city  of  Nurem- 
berg was  honoured  by  a  second  session,  held  within 
its  walls,  of  the  Imperial  Diet.  At  this  meeting,  Cam- 
peggio,  an  Italian  cardinal  and  favourite  of  the  pope, 
attended  as  legate,  to  bespeak,  once  more,  the  strenu- 
ous co-operation  of  the  princes  in  extirpating  the  Lu- 
theran faith.  Personally  known,  and  not  unacceptable, 
to  most  of  the  members  of  the  diet,  this  nuncio,  by  dint 
of  argument,  persuasion,  and  the  subtle  application  of 
those  interested  incentives  which  the  servants  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  have  never  wanted  either  skill  or 
aptitude  to  use,  prevailed  upon  the  assembly  to  pass  a 
new  decree  condemnatory  of  the  tenets  and  proceed- 
ings of  the  reformers,  accompanied  by  a  resolution 
that  the  rescript  of  1521  should  be  vigorously  put  in 
force.  But  while  thus  ostensibly  yielding  to  the  wishes 
of  the  popedom,  as  intimated  by  the  cardinal-legate, 
the  German  princes  were,  by  no  means,  hearty  or 
united  in  devotion  to  the  church.  On  the  contrary, 
those  among  them  who  were  not  deficient  in  political 
shrewdness,  cherished  a  secret  willingness  to  sacrifice 


176  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

the  interests  of  the  hierarchy  as  a  means  of  ultimately 
enriching  themselves,  and,  in  the  mean  time,  of  dis- 
arming the  popular  dissatisfaction,  which  had  now 
reached  a  height  premonitory  of  an  immediate  out- 
burst of  civil  war.  Balancing  these  considerations 
against  the  probable  consequences  of  a  cordial  concur- 
rence in  the  proposals  of  the  Papal  envoy,  the  more 
crafty  spirits  of  the  diet  continued  to  clog  their  seem- 
ing compliance  with  a  counter  demand  that  the  pope, 
with  the  consent  of  the  emperor,  should,  as  early  as 
possible,  convene  a  general  council,  to  be  holden  in 
some  part  of  Germany,  to  consider  of  the  best  method 
of  promptly  and  effectually  redressing  certain  griev- 
ances which  notoriously  attached  to  the  operation  of 
the  ecclesiastical  system.  It  was  further  determined 
that,  in  the  following  November,  the  diet  should  again 
assemble  at  Spires,  to  concert  measures  for  the  con- 
servation of  the  public  tranquillity,  and  definitively  to 
settle  the  precise  reforms  to  be  required  from  the  ex- 
pected council.  Notwithstanding  a  message  from  the 
emperor,  whom  the  continuance  of  the  war  with  Francis 
still  kept  at  a  distance  from  the  seat  of  their  delibera- 
tions, the  federal  legislators,  careless  of  their  sove- 
reign's expressed  disapprobation  of  the  decisions  of 
their  former  meeting  at  Nuremberg,  and  equally  inat- 
tentive to  his  protest  that  he  would  not  sanction  the 
agitation  of  church  questions  elsewhere  than  in  a 
formal  council,  determined  to  avail  themselves  of  so 
favourable  an  opportunity  publicly  to  apprize  the  pon- 
tificate of  the  reformations  they  were  prepared  to  insist 
on.  That  with  these  promptings  of  mere  policy,  there 
mingled  a  conviction  that  the  re-enactment  of  the  anti- 
Lutheran  edict  was  virtually  nugatory,  it  is  impossible 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  177 


to  doubt,  when  we  recollect  that,  during  the  sitting  of 
the  diet,  no  less  a  number  than  four  thousand  persons 
were  known  to  have  partaken  of  the  eucharist  in  both 
kinds  ;  thus  openly  repudiating  the  authority  and  doc- 
trine of  the  Papacy,  in  the  very  presence  of  the  pon- 
tiff's representative,  and  his  secular  allies. 

Campeggio,  understanding  the  real  character  of  the 
decision  to  which  the  diet  had  come,  withdrew,  on  its 
conclusion,  in  April,  to  Ratisbon ;  where  he  was 
speedily  joined  by  those  of  the  dietary  nobles  who 
continued  steadfast  in  their  adherence  to  the  church. 
The  Papal  nuncio  there  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
first  league  that  was  formed  in  Germany  for  the  avow- 
ed purpose  of  upholding  a  particular  form  of  faith  and 
ecclesiastical  discipline.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  car- 
dinal, several  of  the  Germanic  dukes  and  other  poten- 
tates entered  into  a  confederacy  with  a  number  of  the 
prelates  of  the  empire,  binding  themselves  to  maintain, 
by  every  available  means,  the  creed  and  ceremonial 
of  the  Roman  Church.  This  compact  is  the  more 
worthy  to  be  noticed,  inasmuch  as  it  constituted  the 
pattern  and  exemplar  of  those  future  unions  which 
eventually  consolidated  and  assured  the  religious  liber- 
ties of  the  Protestant  states. 

Luther  himself  was  pursuing  his  course  actively  and 
diligently  at  Wittenberg ;  endeavouring,  in  conjunction 
with  him  who  may  indeed  be  called  his  friend,  Melanc- 
thon,  to  imbue  the  minds  of  the  university  students  with 
truth,  to  spread  the  same  truth  by  their  pulpit  dis- 
courses, and  to  promote  its  influence  and  extension  by 
their  epistolary  correspondence.  In  the  year  1519  he 
had  published  his  "  Commentary"  on  the  Epistle  of 
St.  Paul  to  the  Galatians.     This,  having  again  exam- 


178  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

ined  it,  and  made  what  alterations  he  saw  fitting,  lie 
re-published  in  the  beginning  of  the  present  year.  Its 
title,  in  his  collected  works,*  is,  "In  Epistolam  Pauli 
ad  Galatas  D.  Mart.  Lutheri  Commentarius,  pro  u  i- 
versae  Scripturae  methodo  perutilis.  Anno  XXIlil, 
ab  Autore  denuo  recognitus."  And  in  a  marginal  note, 
by  the  editor  of  the  collection,  he  says,  "Anno  1519, 
D.  M.  L.  primum  Commentarium  in  Epistolam  ad 
Galatas  edidit :  anno  autem  24  recognovit."  To  this 
particular  epistle,  indeed,  he  appears  to  have  been 
strongly  attached.  The  reasons  are  obvious.  The 
grand  subject  of  the  epistle,  justification  by  faith,  was 
the  pole-star  of  all  his  observations  ;  and  the  earnest- 
ness with  which  St.  Paul  reproved  the  Galatians,  as 
well  as  the  very  strong  terms  in  which  he  denounced 
the  preachers  of  another  gospel,  would  suit  well  with 
the  warmth  of  his  own  feelings,  and  the  emphasis  of 
the  language  which  he  employed  to  express  them.  He 
was,  in  fact,  somewhat  in  danger  of  dwelling  so  much 
on  this  epistle,  as  not  to  make  even  the  necessary  dis- 
tinctions in  the  application  of  the  term  "  law."  His 
strong  sense  at  once  seized  upon  the  principle  on  which 
the  apostle's  argumentation  rested.  He  saw  that  in 
no  sense  could  the  law  justify  the  man  who  had  broken 
it.  To  unsinning  man  it  would  have  given  direction 
during  the  continuance  of  probation,  and  at  its  close, 
in  case  of  unswerving  obedience,  declared  the  pro- 
mised recompense  to  be  due.  But  to  the  sinner  it 
could  only  minister  wrath.  Justification  was  not  within 
the  range  of  its  instrumentality.  And,  for  the  most 
part,  m  some  of  the  strongest  (and  even  strangest)  ex- 
pressions which  Luther  permitted  himself  to  indulge 
*  Tom.  II.  (Ed.  1582,  Jena.) 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.       '  179 

on  subjects  connected  with  grace  and  debt,  the  law 
and  faith,  he  was  careful  to  show  that  he  only  spoke 
of  the  law  as  attempted  to  be  made  the  means  of  a 
sinner's  justification.  Still,  he  sometimes  employed 
expressions  which,  however  he  might  himself  under- 
stand them,  were  not  only  misunderstood  by  his  ene- 
mies, who  eagerly  embraced  every  opportunity  of  cen- 
sure, but  also  by  some  of  the  more  unstable  of  his  own 
disciples,  to  whose  Antinomian  opinions  they  appeared 
to  give  support.  Some  of  his  expressions  would  ap- 
pear to  be  inconsistent  with  the  adoption  and  enforce- 
ment of  the  divine  law  by  Him  to  whom  "  all  power 
is  given  in  heaven  and  earth ;"  and,  fancying  that 
he  saw  contradiction  (where  in  reality  none  exists)  be- 
tween the  Epistles  of  Paul  and  James,  he  at  one  time 
inclined  to  reconcile  them  by  making  the  latter  give 
way ;  a  method  of  reconciliation  only  differing  in  ap- 
plication from  theirs  who  require  the  former  to  yield. 
The  wonder  is,  that  a  man  in  Luther's  circumstances 
should  have  avoided  error  so  thoroughly  as  was  really 
the  case.  On  no  subjects  are  clearness  of  thought, 
and  guarded  distinctness  of  expression,  more  neces- 
sary than  on  those  which  had  so  recently  been  brought 
before  the  mind  of  the  reformer,  and  which  he  had  not 
only  to  preach  for  the  edification  of  individuals,  but  to 
defend  against  errors  all  but  universally  prevalent. 
He  had  to  preach  practical  truth  controversially.  He 
had  to  show  that  pardon  was  to  be  apprehended  and 
received  only  by  the  faith  of  a  penitent  heart,  fixing 
directly  on  the  gift  of  God,  and  the  atonement  and  in- 
tercession of  Christ.  He  had  to  show  that  no  works 
might  come  in  the  place  of  faith  ;  nay,  that  when  em- 
ployed as  substitutes  for  faith,  they  might  become  posi- 


180  '     LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

tively  injurious.  Thus  to  preach  faith  without  even 
seeming  to  make  void  the  law  was  no  easy  task  for  a 
man  who  received  the  truth  in  its  calorific  as  well  as 
its  luminous  rays,  and  who  sometimes  sought  to  awaken 
attention  by  presenting  the  truth  itself  in  the  form  of 
startling  paradox.  But  He  who  raised  him  up,  enabled 
him  to  stand,  and  guided  him  in  the  right  way.  He 
was  careful  to  point  out  the  real  nature  of  "good 
works,"  Scripturally  considered,  and  to  enforce  a 
steady  and  constant  reference  to  the  divine  commands. 
He  was  anxious,  likewise,  to  exalt  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  only  Saviour,  the  only  Mediator  ;  and 
to  show  that  conscience  could  have  no  peace  except 
by  "  faith  in  his  blood."  And  if  to  this  subject  he 
appeared  at  any  time  to  attach  comparatively  greater 
importance  than  to  some  others,  let  the  period  in 
which  he  lived,  and  the  methods  by  which  men 
were  taught  to  seek  for  reconciliation  with  God  and 
mental  tranquillity,  be  remembered  and  understood, 
and  the  wisdom  which  guided  him  will  be  undeniably 
apparent. 

Subsequently  to  the  republication  which  has  sug- 
gested these  observations,  he  preached  a  course  of 
sermons  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  which,  being 
taken  down  by  different  hearers,  and  collected  together, 
were  afterward  published,  and  form  that  "  Commentary 
on  Galatians"  which  is  usually  known  in  England. 
The  opening  and  close  of  the  preface  to  this  may  be 
given,  as  strikingly  descriptive  of  the  man : — "  I  my- 
self can  scarcely  believe  that  I  was  so  plentiful  in 
words  when  I  did  publicly  expound  this  epistle,  as  this 
book  showeth  me  to  have  been.  Notwithstanding,  I 
perceive  all  the  cogitations  which  I  find  in  this  treatise, 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  181 

by  so  great  diligence  of  the  brethren  gathered  together, 
to  be  mine.  For  in  my  heart  this  one  article  reigneth, 
even  the  faith  of  Christ ;  from  whom,  by  whom,  and  unto 
whom,  all  my  divine  studies,  day  and  night,  have  re- 
course, to  and  fro,  continually."  And  having  alluded 
to  the  opposition  of  Papists  and  those  who  were  then 
called  Anabaptists,  he  thus  exhorts  the  minister  of 
Christ,  and  encourages  him  to  fidelity :  "  And  here- 
withal  let  him  comfort  himself  that  there  is  no  peace 
between  Christ  and  Belial,  or  between  the  seed  of  the 
serpent  and  the  seed  of  the  woman.  Yea,  let  him  re- 
joice in  the  troubles  which  he  suffereth  by  these  sects 
and  seditious  spirits,  continually  springing  up  one  after 
another.  For  this  is  our  rejoicing,  even  the  testimony 
of  our  conscience,  that  we  be  found  standing  and  fight- 
ing in  the  behalf  of  the  seed  of  the  woman  against  the 
seed  of  the  serpent.  Let  him  bite  us  by  the  heel,  and 
spare  not.  We  again  will  not  cease  to  crush  his  head 
by  the  grace  and  help  of  Christ,  the  principal  bruiser 
thereof,  who  is  blessed  for  ever." 

One  or  two  of  his  "  annotations  "  may  be  given,  as 
illustrating  the  spirit  in  which  he  wrote. 

Upon  the  words,  "  Who  gave  himself  for  our  sins" 
(chap,  i,  ver.  4,)  he  thus  comments  :  "  The  apostle 
sa^s,  who  gave,  that  is,  a  gratuitous  gift  to  the  unde- 
serving ;  not,  he  dispensed  a  reward  to  the  worthy. 
So  in  Romans  v,  '  We  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the 
death  of  his  Son.' 

"  Then  again,  he  gave — what  1  not  gold,  nor  silver, 
not  men ;  no,  not  even  the  whole  host  of  angels  ;  but 
that  than  which  there  is  nothing,  than  which  he  had 
nothing,  greater  ;  he  gave  himself !  Himself  for  our 
sins  ;  a  gift  so  inestimable  for  what  was  so  despicable 


182  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

and  odious.  0  the  condescension  and  love  of  God  ! 
which  with  very  excellent  words  are  here  so  aptly  set 
forth  to  us,  illustrating  the  delightful  mercy  of  God  our 
Father.  Where  are  now  the  proud  boasters  of  free 
will  ?  where  the  erudition  of  moral  philosophy  1  where 
the  virtue  of  laws,  whether  divine  or  human  1  Such 
were  our  sins,  that  by  such  a  price  alone  could  they 
be  taken  away ;  and  all  that  we  do  by  will,  by  laws, 
by  doctrines,  to  render  ourselves  righteous,  will  only 
produce  a  false  show  of  virtue,  and  incurable  hypocrisy. 
Our  sins  will  remain  uncovered ;  and  what  can  virtue 
profit,  if  sin  be  unpardoned  1 

"  Nor  is  the  pronoun  our  to  be  contemptuously  over- 
looked. It  will  profit  thee  nothing  to  believe,  generally, 
that  Christ  died  for  the  sins  of  others,  while  thou 
doubtest  whether  he  died  for  thine.  Even  devils  and 
wicked  men  can  believe  that  Christ  died  for  sins. 
But  with  a  constant  faith  thou  must  trust  in  him  for 
thyself,  reckoning  that  thou  art  one  of  those  for  whose 
sins  he  was  delivered.  This  is  the  faith  which  shall 
justify  thee,  and  cause  Christ  to  live,  dwell,  and  reign 
in  thee." 

Referring  to  the  expression  in  the  fourteenth  verse  of 
the  same  chapter,  "traditions  of  my  fathers"  he  says, 
"  Wherefore,  unless  the  doctrine  of  faith,  which  puri- 
fies the  heart,  and  which  justifies,  be  clearly  made 
known,  all  the  learning  of  all  our  teachers  is  but  as 
the  traditions  of  our  fathers.  The  precept,  indeed, 
shows  us  what  things  are  to  be  done  ;  but  when  these 
are  found  to  be  impossible,  then  the  doctrine  of  faith, 
the  gospel,  teaches  us  to  flee  to  the  grace  of  God,  and 
to  implore  God  himself,  our  Master  and  Teacher,  that 
he  would,  by  the  finger  of  his  Spirit,  inscribe  in  our 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  183 

hearts  his  own  letters,  living,  luminous,  and  burning  ;* 
that  thus  illumined  and  enkindled,  we  may  cry,  Abba, 
Father.  And  this  is  not  human  tradition,  but  divine 
learning." 

On  St.  Paul's  rebuke  of  the  insincerity  of  St.  Peter, 
referred  to  in  the  second  chapter  of  the  epistle,  after 
speaking  of  the  different  views  that  had  been  taken  of 
the  subject,  he  breaks  out  in  one  of  his  bold  and  cha- 
racteristic exclamations  :  "  But  I  do  not  like  all  this 
excusing  and  praising.  It  is  better  that  Peter  and 
Paul  should  be  confessed  to  have  fallen  into  unbelief, 
yea,  to  have  come  under  the  very  anathema  of  which 
Paul  has  been  speaking,  than  that  a  single  jot  of  the 
gospel  should  perish." 

The  paradoxical  and  hazardous  way  in  which  he 
sometimes  allowed  himself  to  speak  has  been  men- 
tioned. A  brief  instance  occurs  in  the  note  on  ver.  17, 
chap,  ii,  "  Christ  is  not  a  legislator,  but  a  fulfiller  of 
the  law.  Every  legislator  is  a  minister  of  sin,  because 
he  gives  occasion  of  sin  by  the  law.  Whence  the  old 
law  was  not  given  by  God  himself,  but  by  the  ministry 
of  angels  ;  but  the  new,  that  is,  grace,  he  gave  by 
himself,  sending  his  Holy  Spirit  from  heaven." 

But  such  bold  assertions  arose  not  from  want  of 
judgment.  Seldom  has  the  principle  of  the  difference 
between  the  Old  and  New  Testament  dispensations, 
and  at  the  same  time  their  agreement,  been  more  hap- 
pily expressed  than  by  four  words  in  his  notes  on  the 
twentieth  Psalm,  published  during  the  preceding  year. 
After  saying,  "  Another  sacrifice,  but  the  same  faith 
and  the  same  spirit  in  all  ages,  places,  works,  and  per- 

*  Suas  literas,  vivas,  et  lucentes,  et  ardentes  ;  quibus  illuminati 
et  accensi,  clamemus,  Abba,  Pater, 


]84  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

sons  ;"  he  adds,  "  Externa  variant ;  interna  manent," 
"  The  external  expression  of  principle  may  vary,  but 
the  internal  principle  remains  the  same."  The  pious 
Christian,  in  the  devotional  perusal  of  the  Psalms  of 
David,  enjoys  the  fellowship  of  saints. 

It  was  in  communicating  information  on  subjects  of 
the  greatest  moment  that  Luther  was  occupied,  while 
the  two  political  rivals,  Charles  and  Francis,  were 
cherishing  their  schemes  of  ambition,  and  striving  for 
the  mastery.  The  pope,  too,  desirous  of  establishing 
his  own  temporal  power  more  fully  in  Italy,  so  con- 
ducted himself  as  that  the  imperial  court,  though  loud 
in  professing  allegiance  to  the  sovereign  pontiff,  seem- 
ed glad  of  occurrences  which  disturbed  his  attention, 
weakened  his  influence,  and  threatened  to  reduce  his 
sway  to  such  matters  as  were  purely  spiritual.  Thus 
did  the  opponents  of  truth,  by  their  mutual  disputes, 
growing  out  of  their  inordinate  ambition,  hinder  them- 
selves from  meeting  the  rising  and  advancing  Reforma- 
tion with  an  opposition  which,  had  it  been  united, 
humanly  speaking,  could  scarcely  have  failed  of  being 
successful. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year,  Erasmus,  who  had 
contributed  in  various  ways  to  prepare  at  least  the 
learned  mind  of  the  age  for  the  preaching  of  Luther, 
became  his  opponent ;  publishing  his  Treatise  on 
Free-will.  Of  its  publication  he  thus  speaks  in  a  let-' 
ter  to  the  bishop  of  London,  Cuthbert  Tonstall :  "  The 
die  is  cast.  My  pamphlet  on  Free-will  is  gone  forth  ; 
very  moderately  written,  but  which,  unless  I  am  much 
deceived,  will  excite  great  disturbance."  That  he  re 
garded  the  step  as  placing  him  in  a  new  relation  to 
the  reformers,  seems  plain  from  his  use  of  the  poetical 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  185 

proverb,  "  Jacta  est  alea,"  not  only  to  his  Episcopal 
correspondent,  but  in  a  letter  written  the  same  day  to 
Henry  "VIII.  :  "  The  die  is  cast.  My  pamphlet  on 
Free-will  is  given  to  the  world.  A  bold  exploit,  as 
matters  are  now  in  Germany.  I  expect  stoning  almost. 
Outrageous  replies  will  be  flying  about  my  head.  But 
I  console  myself  in  the  example  of  your  majesty,  who, 
in  their  irrational  violence,  was  not  at  all  spared." 
The  philosopher  was  mistaken,  so  far  as  the  immedi- 
ate publication  of  angry  replies  was  anticipated  by 
him.  Luther's  "  Treatise"  on  the  subject  was  not 
given  to  the  public  till  the  latter  end  of  the  following 
year. 


186  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  L OTHER. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Luther's  greatest  trouble,  in  this  part  of  his  career, 
came  not  from  his  ancient  enemies.  The  insurrec- 
tionary spirit  had  now  extended  to  those  parts  of  Ger- 
many in  which  the  great  principles  of  the  Reformation 
had  been  preached.  To  convince  the  public  generally 
of  the  errors  of  the  ancient  system,  the  word  of  God 
was  read,  arguments  were  founded  upon  it,  and  the 
Scriptural  exhortation  was  repeated,  "  Prove  all  things : 
hold  fast  that  which  is  good."  But  it  was  not  to  be 
expected  that,  while  the  good  seed  was  sown,  the 
enemy  would  bring  no  tares.  They  who  heard  the 
reformers,  heard  of  the  right  of  private  judgment ;  and 
by  many  it  would  be  perverted  into  the  right  to  think 
as  they  pleased.  In  all  ages  there  are  those  who  are 
prepared  for  enthusiasm  by  ignorance  and  self-conceit ; 
and  for  fanaticism  by  self-conceit  and  violent  passion. 
In  the  age  in  which  the  Reformation  broke  out,  though 
the  means  of  instruction  were  multiplied,  yet  the  mass 
of  the  people  were  awakened  in  a  state  of  gross  and 
most  melancholy  darkness.  And  these  were  men  pos- 
sessing all  the  faults  of  human  nature,  and  liable  to  all 
the  errors  and  perversions  which,  by  whatever  outward 
circumstances  excited  and  modified,  have  their  source 
and  support  in  the  deceitfulness  and  wickedness  of  the 
human  heart.  A  self-conceited,  half-enlightened  man, 
hearing  of  the  impossibility  of  salvation  by  the  law ;  of 
the  efficacy  of  faith  in  Christ ;  of  the  vanity  of  mere 
human  learning,  untaught  of  God ;  of  the  power  of  the 
teaching  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  of  the  equal  brotherhood 


A 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  187 

of  all  Christian  believers,  considered  as  such ;  and  of 
the  true  rights  of  conscience,  as  founded  on  personal 
responsibility  to  God ;  would  soon  be  able,  with  these 
elements,  distorted  and  corrupted,  to  construct  a  system, 
half  enthusiasm,  half  imposture,  and  utterly  removed 
from  the  holy  religion  of  which  its  professors,  never- 
theless, so  loudly  boasted.  Even  in  1522  Luther  had 
held  two  or  three  conferences  with  some  men  of  this 
class,  who  had  begun  to  occasion  very  serious  disturb- 
ances ;  and  he  felt  this  the  more,  that  his  enemies,  as 
was  to  be  expected,  represented  these  errors  as  the 
natural  consequences  of  what  they  chose  to  describe 
as  innovations  in  religion.  The  persons  who  were 
introduced  to  Luther  spoke  of  their  visions  and  inspira- 
tions ;  but  he,  after  listening  attentively  to  what  they 
had  to  say,  told  them  that  their  views  were  utterly  un- 
supported by  Scripture.  This,  however,  did  not  at  all 
convince  them  that  they  were  wrong ;  and  they  left 
him,  pitying  his  ignorance,  and  elated  with  their  own 
fancied  triumph. 

When  the  "  war  of  the  rustics "  had  extended  itself 
to  the  countries  where  the  Reformation  had  been 
preached,  the  mischief  of  these  true  enthusiasts  began 
to  assume  a  more  serious  character.  Political  injuries, 
real  or  supposed ;  the  desire  of  obtaining  political  privi- 
leges ;  in  a  word,  the  various  passions  excited  among 
those  who  yield  themselves  to  insurrectionary  impulses, 
became  connected  with  feelings  supposed  to  be  derived 
from  heaven  itself.  Violence  thus  was  consecrated  by 
religion ;  and  men  who  violated  the  commands  of  God 
in  their  lives,  and  whose  entire  spirit  was  in  opposition 
to  the  divine  will,  said,  in  effect,  like  Jehu  of  old  time, 
"  Come  and  see  my  zeal  for  the  Lord."     But  such  are 


188  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

men  when  self-will  is  elevated  to  an  idol,  and  human 
passion  attributed  to  divine  inspiration. 

The  truly  fanatical  preachers,  Storck  and  Stubner, 
under  the  direction  of  the  notorious  Munzer,  had  already 
leagued  themselves  with  the  exasperated  mobs  which 
an  overwrought  oppression  had  at  last  stung  into  rebel- 
lion. After  inciting  the  populace  of  Zwickau,  in  Mis- 
nia,  where  he  had  fixed  his  home,  to  the  perpetration 
of  some  disgraceful  outrages,  such  as  robbing  the 
churches  of  their  internal  decorations,  and  forcibly  ex- 
pelling from  the  altar  priests  engaged  in  celebrating 
public  worship,  Munzer  had  caused  himself  to  be  elected 
to  the  presidency  of  a  kind  of  civil  council,  in  which 
he  asssumed  to  regulate  the  domestic  affairs  of  the 
town  by  special  inspiration  from  heaven.  It  is  curious, 
in  the  history  of  fanaticism,  to  observe  how  insensibly 
the  meanest  and  most  sordid  impulses  of  a  selfish  vanity 
will  sometimes  mingle  with  the  visionary  excitements 
of  a  shattered  understanding.  Reckless  as  he  was, 
and  in  the  main,  we  have  no  doubt,  sincere,  that  is, 
believing  himself  to  be  right,  this  desperate  dreamer 
had  no  sooner  tasted  the  brief  luxury  of  power,  than 
he  commenced  to  decry  the  right  of  all  earthly  magis- 
trates to  wield  authority  over  himself  and  his  deluded 
followers.  In  this  mischievous  phantasy,  his  own 
crazy  judgment  probably  placed  some  vague  reliance  ; 
for  he  who  had  previously  fancied  himself  to  be  en- 
dowed with  the  gift  of  prophecy  was  not  likely  to 
startle  at  the  less  impious  suggestion,  by  the  insane 
spirit  that  tormented  him,  of  a  privilege  to  be  superior 
to  all  worldly  control.  Hallucinations  of  nearly  the 
same  order  are  far  from  being  rare  among  all  classes 
of  enthusiasts,  as  well  political  as  religious.     By  more 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  189 

than  one  learned  speculator  on  the  springs  of  human 
action,  they  have,  not  very  charitably,  been  considered 
to  infer  some  primal  and  deliberate  dishonesty  in  the 
minds  which  they  pervade  and  overthrow.  But  the 
truest  solution  is,  that  they  are  akin  to  the  half-con- 
scious knavery  in  which  many  an  utter  madman  finds 
a  chuckling  and  strange  delight.  Without  enough  of 
rational  and  distinct  perception  clearly  to  discriminate 
the  quality  of  the  impelling  motive,  there  yet  hangs 
about  the  intellectual  wreck  a  sort  of  shadowy  reminis- 
cence of  departed  impressions,  which  serves  only  to 
intensify  the  pleasure  of  the  illusion,  by  mixing  with 
it  something  of  the  sweetness  of  "  stolen  waters." 

From  its  very  complexion,  this  species  of  crazy  self- 
deceit  and  elevation  is  eminently  contagious.  Apart 
from  the  sheer  self-esteem  which  it  both  engenders  and 
feeds,  it  finds  an  apt  predisposition  and  a  potent  ally 
in  the  bosoms  of  an  unhappy  multitude  of  human  crea- 
tures. In  looking  over  the  records  of  superstitious  in- 
sanity, it  is  observable  that  the  huge  mass  of  persons 
who,  in  conformity  with  the  lessons  of  some  original 
propagator  of  the  frenzy,  have  dreamed  themselves  into 
a  conceit  of  their  own  personal  visitation  by  preter- 
natural and  uplifting  revelations  from  heaven,  have  had 
their  lot  in  the  lowest  and  most  destitute  grades  of 
society.  Their  condition,  generally,  in  this  life  has 
been  one  of  abject  wretchedness.  They  were  the 
people  to  whom  the  very  lees  of  human  misery  had 
been  a  portion ;  and  that  among  such  a  people  there 
should  always  be  awake  an  inordinate  craving  not  only 
for  excitement,  as  the  handmaid  of  forgetfulness,  where 
memory  is  bitterness  and  sorrow,  but  also  for  some 
warm,  some  earth-renouncing  consolation,  peculiar  to 


190  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

themselves,  and  exceeding  the  common  consolations 
of  our  race,  in  a  proportion  commensurate  with  the 
ostensible  excess,  beyond  the  ordinary  pangs  of  men, 
of  their  own  burden  of  suffering  and  humiliation.  That 
such  a  morbid  appetence  should  exist,  and  bare  the 
avenues  of  the  mind  to  the  access  of  an  exalting  and 
oblivious  fanaticism,  can  hardly  stir  the  wonder  of  any 
one  who  has  had  much  experience  of  the  pains,  and 
scorns,  and  struggles  of  the  poor.  Not,  therefore,  to 
the  doctrines  taught  by  Luther  are  the  lamentable  ex- 
cesses of  this  fanaticism  to  be  ascribed.  They  will 
be  misunderstood  by  none  who  know  the  native  cor- 
ruption of  the  human  heart,  and  its  strength  of  halluci- 
nating passion.  And  when  they  recollect  the  political 
circumstances  in  which  Luther  found  German  society, 
and  the  ignorance,  and  consequent  exposure  to  error, 
by  which  the  whole  mass  was  pervaded,  the  whole 
subject  will  appear  to  be  less  one  of  astonishment  than 
of  lamentation.  The  actual  state  of  society  being  per- 
ceived, transition  to  another  and  better  condition  might 
have  been  expected  to  be  accompanied,  as  indeed  it 
was,  by  the  movements  of  a  fanaticism  which,  though 
utterly  to  be  condemned,  prove  that  men  are  at  length 
awakened  from  their  sleep,  and  will  soon  live,  if  pro- 
per guidance  be  afforded  them,  as  those  who  arc  alive 
from  the  dead,  and  awake  to  righteousness  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

Nor  may  the  consideration  of  this  subject,  to  which 
attention  has  so  frequently  been  directed,  as  presented 
by  some  of  the  most  remarkable  circumstances  con- 
nected with  the  early  years  of  the  Reformation,  be 
dismissed  without  a  passing  reference  to  the  conduct 
of  the  clergy  of  that  very  church  whose  members  have 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  191 

pointed  to  this  fanatical  Antinomianism,  and,  represent- 
ing it  as  the  proper  effect  of  the  preaching  of  Luther, 
have  constructed  an  argument  for  the  purpose  of  prov- 
ing him  to  have  been  in  the  wrong.  A  moment's 
reflection  on  the  form  of  their  argument  might  have 
shown  them  that,  if  it  were  conclusive  at  all,  it  pressed 
with  equal  force  on  the  predicted  consequences  of  the 
preaching  of  Jesus  Christ  himself.  Familiarity  with 
the  book  which  records  his  discourses  would  have 
brought  to  their  recollection  the  memorable  words, 
"  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  send  peace  on  earth :  I 
came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword.  For  I  am  come 
to  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his  father,  and  the 
daughter  against  the  mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law 
against  the  mother-in-law."  There  were  evil  passions 
in  the  breast  which  even  the  preaching  of  Christ  might 
be  the  occasion  of  kindling  into  a  flame  as  unnatural 
as  it  was  devastating :  but  was  that  preaching  either 
erroneous  or  unseasonable  ? 

The  impiety  and  venality  of  Rome  at  the  time  in 
which  Luther  began  to  preach  were  unquestionable. 
Adrian,  "  in  his  instructions  to  the  nuncio  Chieregato," 
had  avowed  "  fully  and  distinctly  the  evils  that  had 
crept  into  the  church.  '  We  know,'  said  he,  '  that  for 
a  long  time  many  abominations  have  existed  near  the 
holy  see ;  abuses  of  spiritual  things ;  excess  in  the 
exercise  of  authority  ;  everything  has  been  turned  into 
evil.  From  the  head  the  corruption  has  spread  into 
the  members,  from  the  pope  to  the  prelates  ;  we  have 
all  gone  astray,  there  is  none  of  us  that  have  done  good, 
no,  not  one.'"* 

But  what  was  he  to  do  ?  He  promised,  indeed,  to 
*  Ranke,  vol.  i,  p.  94. 


192  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

eradicate  abuses,  and  sought  to  redeem  the  pledges  he 
had  given.  The  performance,  however,  he  found  to 
be  beyond  his  power.  "  Abuse  strikes  too  deep  a 
root ;  it  has  grown  with  the  growth,  it  lives  with  the 
life  of  the  body  to  which  it  clings."  "If  he  wished  to 
suppress  the  revenues  hitherto  enjoyed  by  the  curia, 
in  which  he  detected  an  appearance  of  simony,  he 
could  not  do  so  without  violating  the  fairly-acquired 
rights  of  those  whose  offices  depended  on  these  reve- 
nues ;  offices  which  they  had  generally  purchased.  If 
he  meditated  a  change  in  the  dispensations  of  marriage, 
and  a  repeal  of  certain  existing  prohibitions,  he  was 
met  by  representations  that  church  discipline  would 
thereby  be  injured  and  enfeebled.  In  order  to  check 
the  monstrous  abuse  of  indulgences,  he  was  very  de- 
sirous of  introducing  the  old  penances  ;  but  the  peni- 
tentiaria  remarked  to  him  that  he  would  thus  incur  the 
danger  of  losing  Italy,  while  striving  to  secure  Ger- 
many?* 

The  consequences  were  inevitable.  "  In  such  a 
state  of  things,  genuine  Christian-mindedness  and  faith 
were  out  of  the  question  ;  there  arose,  indeed,  a  direct 
opposition  to  them.  While  the  common  people  sunk 
into  an  almost  pagan  superstition,  and  looked  for  sal- 
vation to  mere  ceremonial  practices,  the  opinions  of 
the  upper  classes  were  of  an  anti-religious  tendency. 
How  astonished  was  the  youthful  Luther  when  he 
visited  Italy !  At  the  very  moment  that  the  offering 
Df  the  mass  was  finished,  the  priests  uttered  words  of 
blasphemy  which  denied  its  efficacy.  It  was  the  tone 
of  good  society  in  Rome  to  question  the  evidences  of 
Christianity.  '  No  one  passed,'  says  P.  Ant.  Bandino, 
*  Ranke,  vol.  i,  p.  96. 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  193 

'  for  an  accomplished  man,  who  did  not  entertain  here- 
tical notions  about  Christianity :  at  the  court  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  passages  of  holy 
writ,  were  spoken  of  only  in  a  jesting  manner ;  the 
mysteries  of  the  faith  were  despised.'"* 

That  which  is  purchased  for  profit  will  always  be 
made  to  produce  all  the  gain  that  can  be  derived  from 
it ;  and  thus  venality  in  the  church  inevitably  led  to 
oppression.  The  higher  orders  in  the  church  (like 
the  nobility,  who  sought  revenue  in  the  room  of  the 
decaying  services  of  feudalism)  sought  to  obtain  from 
those  whom  they  regarded  as  their  vassals  the  largest 
possible  quantity  of  wealth ;  and  their  example  was 
only  too  extensively  followed  by  the  inferior  clergy. 
The  "  hundred  grievances  "  presented  by  the  German 
diet  furnished  a  specimen  of  the  rapacity  of  which  the 
whole  empire  complained  ;  and  which,  when  evil  pas- 
sion was  once  aroused,  pointed  to  the  objects  of  dis- 
like, and  furnished  an  excuse  for  violence.  Let  man 
be  studied,  and  the  voice  of  history,  and  how  deeply 
soever  we  may  deplore  the  crimes  committed  by  the 
rustics  and  fanatics  of  Germany,  they  will  excite  no 
astonishment. 

The  commotions  thus  more  particularly  excited  by 
Munzer  were  not  brought  to  a  close  till  the  beginning 
of  the  summer  of  1525.  This  unhappy  man,  of  low 
extraction,  but  combining  much  cunning  with  the  semi- 
information  that  he  had  received  during  the  course  of 
his  education  for  the  priesthood,  aided  by  others  less 
able,  perhaps,  but  not  less  frantic  than  himself,  took 
advantage  of  the  movements  which  had  already  been 
stirred  up,  and  contrived  to  recommend  a  theological 
*  Ranke,  vol.  i,  pp.  72,  74. 
9 


194  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

system  which  he  had  put  together  to  the  irritated  mul- 
titude, and  to  make  the  insurrection  in  some  respects 
a  war  of  religion. 

While  this  incendiary  was  gathering  around  him  the 
banded  hordes  of  a  desperate  population,  Luther,  indig- 
nant at  the  busy  malignity  of  Duke  George  of  Saxony 
and  his  advisers,  who  were  earnest  in  their  endeavours 
to  procure  an  active  execution  of  the  edict  of  Worms, 
sent  forth  perhaps  that  boldest  of  all  his  publications, 
"  A  Treatise  on  the  Secular  Power."  In  bitterness 
and  pungency  of  invective  it  would  be  hard  to  exceed 
this  tract.  Alluding  to  a  severe  mandate,  which  the 
emperor  had  been  recently  persuaded  to  issue  against 
him,  he  invites  every  good  Christian  to  join  him  in 
praying  for  the  conversion  of  the  imperial  princes,  who, 
he  says,  must  have  been  sent  among  the  people  as  a 
scourge  from  God.  Charles  V.  he  calls  "  a  poor  and 
miserable  creature  ;"  and  describes  the  general  body 
of  the  Germanic  nobles  as  "  maxime  fatui,  pessimi 
nebulones  super  terram."*  In  stern  and  fearless  tones, 
he  warns  the  federal  oppressors,  from  the  supreme 
monarch  downward,  that  by  hurling  such  denuncia- 
tions at  the  restorers  of  the  gospel,  they  were  invoking 
the  divine  anger  on  themselves  ;  that  nothing  could 
more  surely  tend  to  arouse  popular  resistance ;  and 
that,  even  then,  while  the  Turk  menaced  the  frontiers 
of  the  empire,  the  horrors  of  civil  war  were  suspended 
over  their  heads.  The  strong  and  contemptuous  lan- 
guage of  the  discourse  on  the  secular  authority,  together 
with  its  monitory  predictions  of  the  coming  revolt,  have 
been  construed  by  some  of  the  reformer's  Papist  ca- 

*  "  For  the  most  part  insane,  and  the  basest  scoundrels  on  the 
earth." 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  3  95 

lumniators  into  an  evidence  of  collusion  with  the  insur- 
gent fanatics,  or  connivance  at  their  meditated  outrages. 
A  charge  more  utterly  at  variance  with  notorious  truth 
was  never  framed ;  for  at  the  same  moment  when  Lu- 
ther was  thus  visiting  with  merited  chastisement  and 
scorn  the  usurpations  of.  an  imperial  despot,  and  an 
unprincipled  nobility,  he  omitted  upon  no  occasion  to 
denounce  in  terms  still  more  emphatic  the  rebellion  of 
the  sectarian  democracy.  "  The  peasantry,"  he  ob- 
serves, "  ought  to  be  destroyed,  rather  than  the  magis- 
trates and  princes,  because  there  is  no  divine  authority 
for  the  people  taking  the  sword.  Neither  toleration 
nor  mercy  is  due  to  the  peasants :  they  are  worthy 
only  of  the  just  anger  of  God  and  man  ;  and  should  be 
treated  like  mad  dogs."  In  fact,  the  duty  of  abstain- 
ing from  resistance  to  constituted  authorities  by  force 
of  arms  was  uniformly  taught  by  Luther,  to  an  extent 
which,  in  the  present  age,  would  be  considered  as 
amounting  to  servility  and  feebleness  of  spirit. 

In  all  this,  however,  as  well  as  in  a  reply  to  the 
elector,  who,  doubtless  at  the  instigation  of  some  of 
his  alarmed  fellow-sovereigns,  had  remonstrated  with 
Luther  on  the  extreme  license  of  expression  which 
pervaded  the  book  on  Secular  Powers,  and  as  in  al- 
most every  remarkable  act  of  his  life,  we  recognise  the 
constancy,  the  clearness,  and  the  strength  of  the  great 
reformer's  trust  in  the  protective  providence  of  heaven. 
"  It  is  no  hard  thing,"  he  writes,  "  for  Christ  to  defend 
Christ,  in  this  cause  of  mine  ;  a  cause  with  which  the 
elector  has  been  led  to  concern  himself  solely  by  the 
influence  and  direction  of  the  Almighty.  If  I  saw  any 
means  of  withdrawing  myself,  without  loss  and  disho- 
nour to  the  truth,  my  life  itself  would  be  a  sacrifice  not 


196  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

to  be  regretted.  I  have  well  pondered  my  situation 
for  now  more  than  a  year ;  and  should  I  be  dragged 
to  the  extreme  punishment  of  death,  that  will  be  only 
a  mode  of  deliverance  for  me.  But  since  we  are  not 
able  to  penetrate  the  designs  of  God,  let  us  keep  our- 
selves ever  assured,  by  saying,  Thy  will  be  done." 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  general  effect  of  the 
last-named  work,  it  was,  like  many  other  portions  of 
Luther's  writings,  eagerly  laid  hold  of,  as  affording 
something  like  a  pretext  for  some  of  the  inferior  nobili- 
ty to  be  active  in  directing  the  hostility  of  the  peasants 
mainly  against  the  electoral  princes  and  the  hierarchy; 
a  policy  of  which,  in  numerous  instances,  the  real 
motive  was  nothing  more  than  a  hope  of  at  once  di- 
verting popular  fury  from  them,  the  minor  barons,  and 
participating  in  the  promised  spoil  of  their  wealthier 
and  more  powerful  neighbours. 

Meanwhile,  Melancthon,  who  had  been  often  and 
unsuccessfully  importuned  by  his  illustrious  friend  to 
publish  his  long-written  Annotations  on  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  was  astonished  to  receive  a  printed  copy 
of  them,  prefaced  by  an  apologetic  letter  from  Luther 
for  having  secretly  possessed  himself  of  the  manuscript, 
and  committed  it  to  the  press.  "  Martin  Luther,"  so 
runs  the  preface,  "  to  Philip  Melancthon,  grace  and 
peace  in  Christ.  '  Be  angry,  and  sin  not.  Commune 
with  your  heart  upon  your  bed,  and  be  still.'  I  am 
the  person  who  has  dared  to  publish  your  commentary, 
and  now  send  you  your  own  work.  If  you  are  pleased 
with  it,  all  will  be  well :  but  if  not,  it  is  enough  that 
you  please  us.  If  I  have  done  wrong,  the  fault  is  your 
own.  Why  did  you  not  publish  it  yourself  ?  I  threaten 
you,  further,  to  steal  and  publish  your  notes  on  tne 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  197 

Book  of  Genesis  and  the  Gospels  of  St.  Matthew  and 
St.  John,  if  you  do  not  anticipate  me  by  giving  them 
to  the  world." 

About  the  same  period  occurred  the  escape  of  Cathe- 
rine de  Bora,  (afterward  the  amiable  wife  of  Luther,) 
and  eight  of  her  companions,  from  the  convent  of 
Nimpsch.  The  flight  of  these  nuns  from  the  unna- 
tural restrictions  of  the  cloister,  under  a  full  persuasion 
of  the  sinfulness  and  folly  of  their  self-abstraction 
from  society,  drew  from  the  reformer  his  exposition  of 
the  unauthorized  and  inobligatory  nature  of  conventual 
"  vows  of  virginity :"  a  work  than  which  none  has 
been  more  diligently  suppressed  by  the  Church  of 
Rome,  wherever  her  jurisdiction  is  acknowledged. 

Among  the  events  occurring  at  this  part  of  Luther's 
history,  the  commencement  of  the  sacramental  contro- 
versy, and  the  expulsion  of  Carlostadt  from  the  domin- 
ions of  the  elector  Frederic,  may  be  briefly  noted. 
On  relinquishing  his  appointments  in  the  church  and 
University  of  Wittenberg,  the  ex-professor  and  arch- 
deacon of  that  city  had  retired  to  the  principality  of 
Altenberg,  where  his  zeal  and  learning  drew  to  his 
side  a  number  of  the  burghers,  who,  espousing  his 
views  of  the  communion,  and  his  horror  of  paintings 
and  images  in  churches,  had  incurred  the  electoral 
displeasure  by  raising  tumults  and  disorder  in  the 
town. 

Having  been  summoned  to  return  to  Wittenberg,  and 
there  resume  his  duties  as  a  preacher,  but  failing  to 
comply  with  the  summons,  he  was  soon  afterward 
ordered  to  withdraw  himself  from  Saxony.  To  his 
supporters  in  Altenberg  he  wrote  that  he  was  chased, 
without  having  been  heard  or  conquered,  hy  Martin  Lu- 


198  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

ther.  The  same  accusation  of  having  instigated  the 
elector  to  banish  his  former  friend  has  been  reiterated 
against  Luther  by  many  adverse  and  some  friendly 
historians  ;  but  the  charge  is  altogether  gratuitous. 
The  reformer  himself  more  than  once  explicitly  denied 
that  he  had  in  any  manner  intervened  to  direct  his 
sovereign's  anger  toward  Carlostadt ;  and  indeed  the 
only  circumstance  which  has  given  a  colour  to  the  im- 
putation, is  that  of  Luther  having  once  written  to  the 
elector,  beseeching  him  to  lend  no  countenance  to  the 
exorbitant  professions  of  the  Anabaptists.  With  this 
sect,  however,  Carlostadt  had,  notwithstanding  the 
seditious  tendencies  and  flagrant  hallucinations  which 
dishonoured  it,  condescended  in  some  measure  to  con- 
nect himself ;  making  a  hollow  and  ambiguous  pretence 
of  subscribing  generally  to  the  wild  and  flagitious  in- 
sanities which  it  held  for  doctrines. 

That  Luther,  when  he  wrote  to  the  electoral  prince 
of  Saxony  the  letter  just  mentioned,  was  aware  of  his 
ancient  companion's  connection  with  Munzer's  enthu- 
siasts, does  not  appear;  while  the  blunt  intrepidity, 
and  customary  plainness  of  speech,  which  were  never 
known  to  abandon  the  reformer,  forbid  us  to  believe 
that  in  the  admonitory  suggestions  of  that  letter  a  covert 
petition  was  couched  for  the  expatriation  of  a  petulent, 
but  not  powerless,  doctrinal  antagonist.  Remember- 
ing the  overstrained  austerity  of  Luther's  dealings, 
upon  one  occasion,  with  this  the  most  unhappy  of  his 
pristine  coadjutors, — an  excess  to  which  it  is  only  too 
probable  were  to  be  traced  the  subsequent  errors  of 
Carlostadt's  career, — it  is  satisfactory  to  know  that 
when,  a  few  months  later,  the  revolted  peasants,  with 
their  visionary  ringleaders,  were  effectually  suppress- 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  199 

ed,  Luther  did  not  fail  to  use  his  best  exertions  to 
procure  a  revocation  of  the  mandate  which  had  driven 
into  exile  the  alienated  friend  of  his  youth.  The  result 
of  the  reformer's  intercession  on  behalf  of  Carlostadt 
was  a  permission  to  the  latter  to  settle,  according  to 
his  wish,  at  Kemberg ;  where  he  died  in  indigence, 
and  deep  sorrow  for  his  past  errors,  in  1542.  His  ce- 
cession  (not,  it  is  true,  unprovoked,  but  still  most  inju- 
dicious and  unworthy)  from  the  principles,  as  well  as 
the  society,  of  his  primitive  colleagues,  proved  a  source 
of  life-long  disaster  and  unhappiness  to  himself,  while 
it  deprived  the  Reformation  of  an  auxiliary  who  might 
have  rendered  estimable  service ;  and,  neutralizing 
even  the  best  of  his  subsequent  and  individual  labours 
in  the  cause,  has  left  a  shadow  on  his  name. 

It  may  be  added  to  this  account  of  the  reformer  and 
his  labours  during  the  year  1524,  that,  toward  its  close, 
he  laid  aside  the  monastic  habit,  which  hitherto  he  had 
worn  ;  renouncing  likewise  the  monastic  life,  to  which 
he  no  longer  considered  himself  as  bound  :  the  engage- 
ments he  had  formerly  contracted  being  plainly  unlaw- 
ful, imposing  an  unauthorized  restraint  upon  true 
Christian  liberty,  and  opening  the  way  for  numerous 
and  very  fearful  evils. 


200  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  year  1525  was  marked  at  its  very  commence- 
ment by  wars  and  tumults.  The  Imperialists  had  in- 
vaded France  in  the  autumn  of  the  preceding  year  ; 
but,  through  the  judicious  measures  adopted  by  Fran- 
cis, they  had  been  obliged  to  retreat  with  great  loss, 
so  that  the  emperor  was  in  no  condition  to  attempt  to 
coerce  his  great  German  vassals.  The  king  of  France, 
not  satisfied  with  freeing  his  own  dominions  from  a 
foreign  foe,  followed  his  rival  into  Italy,  and  besieged 
Pavia ;  before  which  place  his  troops  were  encamped 
when  the  year  opened.  The  siege  had  already  lasted 
more  than  two  months,  and  the  town  still  held  out,  be- 
ing gallantly  defended  by  the  imperial  general,  Antonio 
de  Leyva,  an  officer  of  high  rank,  and  patient,  but  at 
the  same  time  enterprising  courage.  The  rigour  of 
the  season  made  the  task  of  the  besiegers  more  diffi- 
cult ;  but  they  persevered  with  great  ardour ;  and  had 
Francis  acted  with  ordinary  judgment,  the  town  must 
have  yielded.  But  highly  gifted  as  he  was,  and,  for 
the  most  part,  of  a  noble  and  generous  spirit,  he  was 
the  creature  of  impulse  and  passion.  Not  long  before, 
by  a  series  of  persecutions  equally  bitter  and  unjust, 
he  had  so  exasperated  the  constable  Bourbon  as  to 
drive  him  to  go  over  to  the  emperor,  whose  power  he 
thus  very  effectually  increased,  while  that  of  Francis 
was  proportionably  weakened.  Having  secured  the 
neutrality  of  the  pope,  instead  of  bending  all  his  force 
to  the  reduction  of  Pavia,  he  detached  no  less  than  six 
thousand  men  from  the  besieging  army  for  the  invasion 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  201 

of  Naples.  The  imperial  generals  wisely  took  no 
notice  of  this.  They  knew  that  if  Francis  were  un- 
successful in  the  Milanese,  the  Neapolitan  invasion 
would  come  to  nothing.  They  directed  their  whole 
attention,  therefore,  to  the  besieging  army,  now  so  in- 
judiciously diminished  ;  and  the  event  proved  how 
sound  was  the  judgment  they  had  formed  on  the  real 
state  of  affairs. 

In  February  the  imperial  troops,  under  Pescara  and 
Bourbon,  approached  the  French  camp.  The  more 
cautious  of  the  advisers  of  Francis  recommended  him 
to  retreat,  for  that  in  a  short  time  the  imperial  army 
would,  from  the  difficulties  of  its  position,  either  be  dis- 
banded or  greatly  reduced  ;  while  himself,  occupying 
some  strong  post,  might  wait  for  reinforcements  and 
supplies  from  France,  and  be  ready  to  take  advantage 
of  the  first  favourable  opportunity  for  attacking  the  Im- 
perialists. Counsel  like  this  did  not  agree  with  the 
ardent  feelings  of  the  monarch.  Retreat,  he  thought, 
would  obscure  his  fame.  He  resolved  to  fight ;  and 
the  consequence  was  the  battle  of  Pavia,  (fought  on 
February  3d,  1525,)  from  the  effects  of  which  he  never 
fully  recovered.  His  army  was  totally  beaten,  and  he 
himself  taken  prisoner,  and,  after  a  short  time,  sent  to 
Spain,  where  he  continued  in  captivity  the  whole  of  the 
year.  But  even  these  favourable  occurrences  left  little 
more  leisure  to  his  fortunate  rival  for  attending  to  the 
internal  state  of  the  various  German  principalities. 
He  had  to  adopt  measures  for  securing  and  improving 
the  opportunities  of  extending  success  afforded  by  the 
victory  of  Pavia  ;  and  the  Italian  princes,  and  the  pope 
himself,  jealous  of  his  power,  threw  in  his  way  all  the 
obstacles  they  could  command.     Louisa  of  Savoy,  the 


202  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

mother  of  Francis,  to  whom  he  had  committed  the 
government  in  his  absence,  rose  with  the  exigency  of 
her  condition.  Charles,  though  accustomed  to  great 
self-restraint,  had  yet  been  so  elated  by  the  battle  of 
Pavia,  and  the  captivity  of  a  great  monarch,  that  he 
seems  to  have  forgotten  his  usual  caution,  and  to  have 
fancied  his  position  much  stronger  than  in  reality  it 
was.  He  had  therefore  treated  Henry  of  England 
with  coolness  ;  and,  supposing  that  he  no  longer  need- 
ed the  good  offices  of  the  aspiring  and  irritable  Wol- 
sey,  he  withdrew  his  former  expressions  of  friendship. 
The  king  and  his  minister  were  thus  alike  exaspe- 
rated ;  and  Louisa,  discovering  this,  hastened  to  im- 
prove the  favourable  opportunity,  and  induced  Henry 
to  conclude  with  her  a  defensive  treaty,  and  to  engage 
that  he  would  use  his  best  offices  for  the  release  of 
Francis  from  his  imprisonment.  The  attention  of  the 
ambitious  emperor  was  thus  directed  to  so  many  ob- 
jects, that,  as  in  former  years,  Luther anism,  though  not 
overlooked,  and  though  "his  disapprobation  was  often 
strongly  expressed,  had  nevertheless  time  both  to 
strike  its  roots  deep  in  the  soil,  and  to  spread  its 
branches  more  widely. 

The  insurrectionary  movements  of  the  German  pea- 
santry, now  connected  with  the  fanatical  adherents  of 
Munzer,  came  this  year  to  their  crisis.  In  its  earlier 
days  the  revolt  broke  out  in  Thuringia,  a  province  sub- 
ject to  the  elector  of  Saxony.  In  other  parts  of  Ger- 
many the  usual  consequences  of  insurrection  had 
occurred.  Its  first  movements  had  been  successful, 
and  the  passions  of  the  revolters  had  led  to  all  kinds 
of  violence.  Eventually,  however,  the  power  of  the 
nobles,  when  fully  brought  to  bear  on  their  undisci- 


• 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  203 

plined  opponents,  had  been  sufficient  to  reduce  them 
to  their  former  subjection.  But  in  Thuringia,  where 
Munzer  commanded  in  person,  religious  fanaticism 
lent  its  aid  to  the  spirit  of  revolt,  and  the  struggle  con- 
tinued till  the  opening  of  summer.  He  stimulated  his 
deceived  and  wretched  adherents  to  depose  the  magis- 
trates in  every  town  of  which  they  obtained  posses- 
sion; and  compelled  all  persons,  whether  nobles  or 
burghers,  upon  pain  of  death,  to  put  on  the  common 
habiliments  of  the  labouring  populace,  and  to  renounce 
all  their  titles  of  distinction.  For  some  months  the 
lenient  temper  of  the  elector,  combined  with  other  cir- 
cumstances, which  drew  away  his  attention  from  these 
disturbances,  permitted  the  Anabaptist  demagogue  to 
pursue  his  revolutionizing  course  without  hinderance 
or  molestation.  But  at  length  the  height  to  which  his 
crazy  insolence  had  risen,  and  the  large  accessions  of 
numerical  support  which  every  day  brought  to  his 
cause,  called  for  the  vigorous  interference  of  the  prince- 
palatine  to  check  the  progress  of  disorder,  and  rescue 
a  fine  tract  of  territory  from  total  devastation.  In  con- 
junction therefore  with  the  duke  of  Brunswick  and  the 
landgrave  of  Hesse-Homberg,  Frederic  had  assembled 
a  considerable  body  of  troops,  and  prepared  to  inflict 
summary  vengeance  on  the  invaders  of  the  public 
safety.  Before  having  recourse,  however,  to  an  armed 
assault,  these  princes,  with  a  prudent  and  commenda- 
ble humanity,  made  trial  of  negotiation,  inviting  the 
inflamed  peasants  to  return  peaceably  to  their  homes, 
and  assuring  them  of  prompt  and  effectual  relief  from 
the  pressure  of  their  genuine  causes  of  discontent. 
Fearful  of  the  doom  which  was  not  unlikely  to  await 
himself,  in  case  of  his  desertion  by  the  infuriate  rabble 


204  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

who  surrounded  him,  Munzer  would  listen  to  no  over- 
tures ;  but,  rejecting  all  terms  of  compromise,  inveigh- 
ed against  the  faithlessness  of  the  secular  princes,  and 
incited  his  lawless  partisans  to  a  still  wilder  enthusi- 
asm, and  more  impudent  atrocity.  To  crush  the  re- 
bellious mob  by  the  strong  arm  of  military  power  was 
thus  made  inevitable  ;  and  accordingly,  in  May,  1525, 
the  electoral  forces  marched  upon  the  rebel  camp  at 
Frankenhausen.  The  fanatical  chieftain,  who  appears 
to  have  been  not  overburdened  with  personal  bravery, 
was  at  first  desirous  of  saving  himself  by  flight ;  but 
finding  that  the  army  of  the  princes  had,  by  surround- 
ing his  position,  cut  off  all  chance  of  escape,  he  ga- 
thered courage  from  necessity  to  lead  his  disciples 
into  battle.  The  opening  of  the  struggle  was  preluded 
by  an  act  of  gratuitous  barbarity,  which,  as  having 
deeply  exasperated  the  electoral  commanders,  can 
alone  account  for  the  terrific  slaughter  which  ensued. 
Anxious  to  the  last  to  spare  the  lives  of  his  deluded 
subjects,  the  elector  John  (who  had  just  succeeded  his 
brother)  despatched  a  young  nobleman  of  his  suite,  to 
offer  pardon  to  the  insurgent  peasantry,  on  condition 
of  laying  down  their  weapons,  and  surrendering  their 
leaders.  To  these  proposals  the  multitude,  in  mo- 
mentary terror  of  the  bristling  array  which  hedged  them 
in  on  every  side,  betrayed  a  disposition  to  yield  ;  when 
Munzer,  animated  by  the  urgent  danger  to  himself,  ad- 
dressed them  in  one  of  those  phrenetic  effusions  which 
had  often  before  stirred  them  to  deeds  of  rapine  and 
of  blood.  Exhorting  them  to  rely  fearlessly  upon  the 
omnipotent  aid  of  God,  he  gave  them  a  vehement  as- 
surance of  entire  safety  and  victory  in  the  impending 
contest,  told  them  of  miracles  that  should  be  wrought 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  205 

in  their  favour,  and  confidently  vowed  to  receive  all 
the  enemy's  bullets  harmless  in  his  own  mantle. 
While  he  spoke,  a  rainbow  (the  symbol  which  was 
emblazoned  on  their  banners)  appeared  in  the  heavens. 
"  See,"  cried  the  enthusiast,  "  the  token  which  God 
sends  you  !  Behold  the  pledge  of  your  triumph,  and 
the  destruction  of  the  wicked !"  The  last  words  suf- 
ficed to  kindle  the  fanaticism  of  his  hearers  into  fury. 
They  fell  upon  the  unhappy  envoy  who  awaited  their 
answer  to  the  proposals  of  his  sovereign,  and  tore  him 
to  pieces,  amidst  mingled  hymns  and  execrations.  In 
a  paroxysm  of  fanatical  rage  and  desperation,  they 
rushed  into  the  combat,  singing  with  a  vaunting  and 
wild  energy,  which  appropriately  signified  their  reco- 
vered recklessness  of  life  and  pain,  "  Come,  Holy 
Ghost,"  &c.  Their  song  was  the  paean  of  a  self- 
immolating  frenzy;  for,  of  eight  thousand  peasants, 
whom  the  morning  sun  saw  collected  at  Frankenhau- 
sen,  more  than  five  thousand  perished  in  the  conflict. 
Munzer  himself  was  captured,  and  condemned  to  be 
executed  as  a  traitor ;  a  fate  which  he  encountered 
with  a  singular  lack  of  heroism  for  one  who  had  mainly 
helped  to  set  an  empire  in  a  blaze  of  sedition. 

So  terminated  the  career  of  this  extraordinary  mad- 
man ;  and  with  it  the  perilous  revolt  which  his  ravings 
had  fomented.  In  those  parts  of  Germany  where  the 
Reformation  took  root,  the  beneficent  offices  of  a  pure 
Christianity  speedily  disclosed  themselves  in  the  ame- 
liorated condition  of  the  inferior  grades  of  the  social 
fabric.  But  throughout  the  rest  of  the  electoral  prin- 
cipalities the  seeds  of  future  insurrection  were  so 
thickly  sown,  that  the  wars,  foreign  and  internal,  of 
the  next  century  may  be  regarded  as  events  which, 


206  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

by  diverting  popular  attention  from  the  sores  of  the 
community,  abridging  the  actual  power  of  the  church 
and  the  feudal  aristocracy  to  enforce  the  full  sum  of 
their  old  rapacity,  and  gradually  wearing  out  the  last 
fetters  of  a  barbarous  allodial  servitude,  conferred  no 
insubstantial  benefit  on  the  Germanic  nations,  and  pre- 
served them  from  the  recurrence  of  a  worse  species 
of  contest.  The  struggles  of  the  palatinate,  indeed, 
and  the  Protestant  league,  were  something  in  the  na- 
ture of  revolts,  justified  by  religious  persecution,  and 
the  grasp  of  an  illegitimate  authority.  But  they  were 
altogether  on  too  large  a  scale,  and  under  conduct  too 
liberal  and  wise,  to  bear  any  analogy  to  that  harass- 
ing, unconcerted,  and  spasmodic  warfare  which,  had 
the  current  of  affairs  flowed  in  a  direction  different 
from  the  precise  course  it  took,  might  have  at  once 
converted  the  history  of  the  empire  into  a  narrative  of 
incendiary  risings,  and  the  perpetual  fluctuations  of 
democratic  passion ;  and,  by  thus  keeping  the  public 
mind  in  constant  disunion  and  alarm,  materially  em- 
barrassed the  progress  of  the  Reformation. 


LIFE  OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  207 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Only  ten  days  before  the  defeat  of  the  insurgents  at 
Frankenhausen,  on  the  5th  of  May,  1525,  Frederic, 
justly  surnamed  "  the  Wise,"  expired  ;  having  given 
satisfactory  testimony  in  his  last  moments  of  his  per- 
sonal appreciation  of  the  great  and  vital  truths  which 
he  had  eminently  contributed  to  bring  into  wide  circu- 
lation. Against  the  memory  of  this  virtuous  and  able 
prince  it  has  sometimes  been  alleged  that  his  habitual 
caution  was  excessive,  and  bordered  on  defect  of  moral 
courage.  The  grounds  of  this  charge  are,  the  letter 
written  by  him,  in  1522,  to  Leo  X.,  deprecating  the 
displeasure  of  that  pontiff,  and  professing  his  inno- 
cence of  an  active  adhesion  to  the  Lutheran  cause ;  his 
failure  to  avow  himself  the  patron  of  the  reformers, 
after  the  Diet  of  Worms ;  and,  generally,  the  undivulged 
and  covert  protection  which  he  accorded  to  them.  A 
more  erroneous  estimate  of  a  noble  character  than  is 
here  implied,  it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive.  So  far 
from  manifesting  the  timorous  disposition  which  this 
accusation  imputes  to  him,  the  letter  of  Frederic  to  the 
pope  is  admirable  for  its  dispassionate  maintenance  of 
that  grand  principle  of  justice,  that  no  man  ought  to  be 
condemned  without  a  candid  and  full  hearing.  Be- 
yond this  sentiment,  —  a  sentiment  which,  under  all 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  was  sufficiently  distaste- 
ful to  the  holy  see, — the  elector  had  the  temerity  to 
warn  the  pope  of  danger  to  be  incurred  by  the  severi- 
ties then  in  contemplation  against  Luther.  The  moral 
boldness  of  these  admonitions,  the  happier  condition 


208  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

of  the  European  family  in  our  own  times  leads  some 
of  us  to  undervalue.  The  enormous  influence  of  the 
pontifical  crown  is  too  much  left  out  of  sight ;  while 
the  involuntary  and  almost  invincible  subjugation  bound 
upon  individual  minds,  by  the  force  of  ancestral  exam- 
ple, and  the  lessons  of  early  life,  is  equally  forgotten. 
These  things  considered,  the  electoral  remonstrance 
ought,  we  think,  to  be  viewed  as  indicative  of  more 
than  common  intrepidity.  So  deep,  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered, and  so  universal  was  the  veneration  of  the  sup- 
posed sanctity  and  supremacy  of  the  church,  that  even 
Luther  had  never  yet  suffered  himself  to  doubt  of  her 
authority.  The  fountain  and  abode  of  that  authority, 
whether  it  properly  resided  in  the  pontiff,  or  in  the  re- 
presentative council  of  the  whole  body  of  Christendom, 
he  had  indeed  newly  begun  to  question  :  but  that  there 
was  present,  somewhere  in  the  ecclesiastical  constitu- 
tion, an  appellate  jurisdiction  and  power  of  ultimate 
decision  in  matters  of  belief,  and  that  of  such  power 
the  pope  was  the  appropriate  and  highest  organ,  had 
net  been  brought  into  dispute.  But  in  judging  of  the 
elector's  conduct,  we  must  also  recollect,  that  for  seve- 
ral years  he  was  placed  in  the  very  difficult  position 
of  having  to  shield  from  assaults,  which  he  felt  to  be 
unjust,  both  in  their  object  and  their  method,  men  whose 
doctrines  he  had  not  absolutely  determined  to  embrace. 
Well  persuaded  that  in  their  theological  notions  the 
truth  lay  with  the  reformers,  and  cordially  approving 
of  their  emendations  of  the  Saxon  ritual,  it  was  not  till 
near  the  close  of  his  existence  that  he  was  able  to 
shake  off  every  vestige  of  an  inherited  allegiance  to 
the  ecclesiastical  sovereignty.  At  the  Diet  of  Worms 
he  strenuously  and  successfully  protested  against  the 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  209 

proscription  of  Luther,  unheard  in  his  own  vindication ; 
and  when,  by  the  artful  shaping  of  the  interrogatories , 
and  the  prejudices  of  the  imperial  tribunal,  the  masterly 
and  brave  defence  of  the  reformer  was  rendered  nugato- 
ry, he  found  means  to  defeat  the  malice  of  the  church- 
men and  their  secular  confederates.  It  is,  moreover,  an 
ascertained  fact,  that  before  that  period  Frederic  had 
extorted  from  the  emperor  a  distinct  pledge  never  to 
use  the  sword  for  the  cure  of  supposed  errors  in  reli- 
gion ;  a  pledge  which,  though  the  Punic  faith  of  Charles 
V.  often  contemplated  its  violation,  was  surely  dictated 
by  a  calm  and  patriotic  heroism,  that,  sustained  by  a 
clear  sense  of  duty,  could  dare  to  set  at  naught  the  ful- 
minations  of  the  Vatican. 

But  other  and  abundant  reasons  were  not  wanting 
to  justify  the  actual  policy  of  the  elector.  An  open 
and  premature  profession  of  the  reformed  faith,  so  far 
from  benefiting  the  original  advocates  of  that  better 
and  regenerate  creed,  would  have  served  only,  by  dis- 
crediting their  illustrious  friend  in  the  imperial  regard, 
additionally  to  jeopardize  their  individual  safety  and 
their  common  object.  By  standing  where  he  did  stand, 
— mediate  between  the  hostile  parties, — careful,  on 
one  side,  to  give  no  occasion  for  suspicion  or  attack 
by  the  emperor,  and,  on  the  other,  equally  resolved  to 
allow  of  no  invasion  of  the  liberties  of  his  native  sub- 
jects, the  sagacious  elector  secured  for  the  Lutheran 
teachers  the  fair  field,  and  practical  immunity  from 
the  touch  of  persecution,  which  was  all  they  needed. 
These  points  ascertained,  as  by  the  provident  wisdom 
of  Frederic  they  were,  the  inherent  rectitude  of  the 
reformer's  doctrine  had  free  scope  and  opportunity  to 
become  known  in  Germany,  and  being  known,  to  be 


210  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

fairly  tried  against  the  immemorial  corruptions  which 
it  denounced.  It  would  have  been  far  easier  to  act  a 
part  less  wary  and  prudential.  The  electoral  prince 
might  undoubtedly,  at  any  moment,  have  proclaimed 
his  cordial  attachment  to  the  inceptive  Reformation , 
he  might  have  expressly  abjured  the  pontifical  sway, 
and  formally  abrogated,  in  his  own  dominions,  the  Ro- 
man ritual.  But  besides  that  so  peremptory  a  repudia- 
tion of  the  ancient  and  general  belief  of  the  German 
federacy  would  have  been  construed  into  a  virtual  re- 
nouncement of  the  imperial  constitution,  by  the  assump- 
tion of  a  power  unknown  to  its  theory  and  provisions  ; 
besides  the  inexpediency,  not  to  say  madness,  of  thus 
challenging  the  warm  antagonism  of  the  emperor,  and 
adding  to  the  superstitious  intolerance  of  every  Papal 
client  in  the  diet  the  rancour  of  political  jealousy  ;  the 
advantages  to  have  been  in  any  way  derived  from  such 
a  proceeding  are  more  than  questionable.  According 
to  all  human  calculation,  it  is  certain  that  had  the  elec- 
tor of  Saxony  thus  placed  himself  ostentatiously  in  the 
front  of  the  struggle,  the  principles  of  the  reformed 
religion  would  not  have  gained  so  swift  and  safe  an 
access  as,  in  fact,  they  did  gain,  to  other  regions  than 
were  subject  to  his  own  favourable  rule.  The  times, 
in  short,  were  not  ripe,  till  near  the  end  of  Frederic's 
life,  for  a  demonstration  so  unusual  and  decisive.  The 
course  of  events,  shortly  after  his  demise,  conducted 
his  brother  and  successor  to  a  situation  less  delicate, 
and  demanding,  not  indeed  a  more  resolute,  (for  the 
peculiar  praise  of  Frederic's  whole  line  of  conduct  is 
its  singular  unity  and  fixedness  of  purpose,  under  cir- 
cumstances which  powerfully  tended  to  beget  infirmity 
and  vacillation,)  but  a  more  overt  and  ostensible  sup- 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  211 

port  from  the  electorate,  to  the  salient  and  renovated 
form  of  Christianity,  which  had  waxed  great  under  its 
shadow.  In  looking  back  upon  the  memorable  era 
now  in  view,  we  are  struck  by  the  large  space  which 
the  name  of  this  generous  and  wise  prince  fills  in  his- 
tory; a  name  illustrated  by  no  associations  of  con- 
quest, no  palpable  pre-eminence  over  the  electoral 
sovereigns  of  circumjacent  provinces,  nor  by  any  of 
the  chivalrous  splendours  which  hang  about  the  me- 
mory of  so  many  of  his  contemporaries,  but  conspi- 
cuous in  the  simple  and  quiet  grandeur  of  a  broad  intel- 
lect and  a  noble  heart.  Without  a  stain  upon  the 
brightness  of  his  public  reputation,  the  vices  and  the 
foibles  incident  to  princely  rank  seem  to  have  found  no 
lurking-place,  no  congenial  weakness,  in  his  nature. 
Even  "  that  last  infirmity  of  noble  minds,"  ambition, 
would  appear  to  have  "held  no  empire  over  him.  Up- 
right as  he  was  benevolent,  and  inaccessible  to  the 
proffered  blandishments  of  a  supreme  station,  his  re- 
fusal of  the  imperial  crown  was  an  act  of  deliberate 
and  pure  disinterestedness,  which,  we  do  not  fear  to 
say,  has  no  example  in  the  annals  of  Europe.  Me- 
lancthon,  in  his  funeral  oration,  has  well  described 
him  as  a  prince  whose  accomplishments  were  equalled 
only  by  his  moral  worth.  But  the  eloquent  and  uni- 
versal sorrow  of  his  subjects  was  a  finer,  a  more  touch- 
ing and  appropriate,  tribute  to  his  virtues,  than  even 
the  graceful  eulogy  of  the  Wittenberg  professor. 

While  the  "  war  of  the  peasants  "  raged  in  Germany, 
the  Swiss  reformers,  Zuinglius  and  QEcolampadius, 
through  whose  labours  the  gospel  had  obtained  a  home 
among  the  Alps,  made  many  converts  to  their  doctrine 
of  the  eucharist.     Among  the  rest,  Bucer,  a  man  of 


212  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

high  and  various  endowments,  who  may  be  taken  to 
have  been  the  Protestant  apostle  of  the  Upper  Rhine, 
had  followed  their  example  in  denying  the  corporeal 
presence.  Zuinglius,  the  originator  of  the  Helvetic 
Reformation,  had,  from  the  first,  leaned  to  the  true  in- 
terpretation of  the  sacramental  institute  ;  and,  on  the 
appearance  of  Carlostadt's  earliest  argument  upon  the 
subject,  had  given  his  sanction  to  the  view  developed 
in  that  publication.  Meantime,  GEcolampadius,  who 
in  1521  insisted  on  the  literal  acceptation  of  the  Sa- 
viour's words  concerning  the  elements  in  the  last  sup- 
per, had  read  a  recantation,  and  sustained  his  amended 
opinion  with  much  force  of  reasoning  and  illustration. 
Tt  was  not,  however,  until  the  year  1525  that  the  sen- 
timents of  the  Helvetian  divines  were  thrust  so  promi- 
nently forward  as  to  attract  the  public  notice  of  Luther. 
In  that  year,  a  book,  bearing  the  name  of  Zuinglius, 
and  purporting  to  be  a  commentary  "  De  vera  et  falsa 
Religione,"  issued  from  the  press  of  Zurich,  in  which 
it  was  strongly  contended  that  the  material  types  in  the 
holy  communion  were  neither  transmuted,  as  the  Pa- 
pists held,  into  the  corporeal  substance  of  the  Redeemer, 
nor  pervaded,  and,  as  it  were,  impregnated,  by  that  sub- 
stance ;  but  only  symbols  and  commemorative  tokens 
of  the  great  piacular  oblation  for  the  sin  of  the  world. 
In  this  treatise  Luther  is  not  referred  to  by  name 
although  it  is  clear  that  the  negation  of  the  consub- 
stantiative  theory  was  pointedly  aimed  at  that  last 
modification  and  relic  of  Popery  which  clung  to  him. 
Foremost  among  the  Lutherans  to  combat  the  Swiss 
doctrine  was  Buganhagen,  better  known  as  Pomeranus. 
But  though  he  was  generally  an  acute  thinker,  and  a 
not  unlearned  theologian,  the  reply  of  Pomeranus  is 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  213 

remarkable  neither  for  controversial  skill,  nor  felicity 
in  the  exposition  of  the  very  vulnerable  tenet  which  he 
advocated.  The  divines  of  Zurich  and  Basle  rejoined 
with  a  prompt  and  overwhelming  force,  which  brought 
up  the  Saxon  arch-reformer  himself  to  the  succour  of 
his  defeated  partisan.  In  a  work  which  Luther  pub- 
lished in  1526,  as  well  as  in  a  sermon  of  proximate 
date,  he  maintains  the  actual  union  of  the  human  per- 
sonality of  Christ  with  the  consecrated  signs  of  his 
sacrificial  self-surrender,  with  singular  peremptoriness 
and  vigour.  Laying  peculiar  emphasis  on  the  express 
declaration  of  our  Saviour  to  his  disciples,  "  This  is 
my  body,"  &c,  he  affirmed  the  attempt  to  explain  that 
declaration  as  a  mere  metonymy  to  be  fraught  with 
peril  to  many  of  the  cardinal  verities  of  the  evangelical 
system,  inasmuch  as  it  would  establish  a  precedent  for 
frittering  away  the  obvious  import  of  Scripture  by  me- 
taphorical and  arbitrary  constructions.  Both  of  these 
compositions  were  severally  answered  by  GEcolampa- 
dius  and  Zuinglius,  who  with  considerable  ability  ex- 
posed the  manifold  absurdities  involved  in  Luther's 
dogma  of  consubstantiation. 

In  all  the  writings,  on  either  side,  to  which  this  dis- 
pute gave  rise,  there  is  not  a  little  of  that  polemical 
vehemence  which  was  characteristic  of  the  age.  Of 
the  personal  acrimony  and  recriminative  insults  which 
defiled  the  earlier  discussions  with  the  Papal  cham- 
pions, it  is,  however,  satisfactory  to  observe,  that  no 
trace  occurs  in  the  records  of  the  sacramental  contro- 
versy. Though  indulging  in  a  license  of  reproach,  and 
a  pungency  of  sarcastic  rebuke,  to  which  the  dialectical 
exhibitions  of  our  own  times  present  no  parallel,  as  the 
customs  of  society  show  no  toleration,  all#  parties  mu- 


214  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

tually  regarded  one  another  with  the  respect  due  to  men 
who,  with  high  talents  and  large  acquisitions,  were 
earnest  and  sincere  in  their  search  after  truth.  The 
whole  discussion  does  indeed  furnish  matter  of  regret, 
as  it  prevented  that  cordial  union  of  the  reformers  of 
adjacent  countries  which  the  exigences  of  their  com- 
mon cause  required,  as  well  in  formal  as  in  more  essen- 
tial points.  It  is,  nevertheless,  consolatory  to  remark 
what  purity  of  motive  actuated  the  dissentient  leaders  ; 
while  the  solitary  remnant  of  speculative  error  which 
lingered  in  the  Lutheran  theology  was  in  some  mea- 
sure redeemed  by  that  spirit  of  reverent  cautiousness 
which  it  betokened.  Nothing  perhaps  was  more  de- 
monstrative of  Luther's  mission  from  heaven,  than  his 
perpetual  and  devout  (although,  in  this  one  instance, 
mistaken)  care  not  to  let  the  smallest  particle  of  evan- 
gelical doctrine  be  inadvertently  so  confounded  with 
the  multiform  abuses  woven  around  it  by  the  craft  and 
impiety  of  the  popedom,  as  to  share,  along  with  those 
abuses,  the  rejecting  scorn  of  honest  and  enlightened 
men. 

The  habit  and  the  principles  which  were  thus  ap- 
parent, even  in  the  maintenance  of  the  single  erroneous 
article  in  the  reformer's  creed,  constitute  one  of  the 
surest  tests  of  a  true  providential  designation  to  the 
work  of  restoring,  to  a  world  overshadowed  with  dark- 
ness and  moral  desolation,  the  vitality  and  light  of  truth. 

It  was  in  this  year  that  Luther  entered  the  "  holy 
estate  of  matrimony."  If  the  subject  were  not  too 
serious  for  any  approach  to  playfulness,  it  would  be 
most  amusing  to  witness  the  pretended  horror  of  the 
opponents  of  the  reformer  when  they  refer  to  this  event. 
Maimbourg,  for  instance,  whose  whole  work  is  that  of 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  215 

a  violent  partisan,  whose  object  was  by  any  means  to 
blast  the  character  of  the  subject  of  his  history,  states, 
that  "  in  that  very  year  which  witnessed  a  public  cala- 
mity," (the  war  of  the  peasants,)  "  of  which  Luther,  if 
not  the  immediate  cause,  was  at  least  the  occasion,  he 
was  so  blinded  by  an  infamous  passion,  for  which  even 
his  friends  blushed,  that  with  a  bold  and  hardened  front 
he  celebrated  his  nuptials."  Among  some  nuns,  it  seems, 
who  had  believed  it  to  be  their  duty  to  renounce  their 
conventual  engagements,  was  one  whose  personal  at- 
tractions strongly  wrought  upon  the  mind  of  Luther.* 
While  the  elector  Frederic  lived,  who  was  averse  to 

*  Hujus  pulchritudinem  Lutherus  observavit,  et  ejusque  amore 
vehementur  captus  est. — Maimbourg  wishes  to  represent  the 
whole  affair  as  one  of  unbridled  passion.  Luther  married  the 
object  of  his  affection,  notwithstanding  she  had  lived  two  entire 
years  at  Wittenberg,  "cum  licentia,  inter  juvenes  academicos :" 
a  slander  for  which  there  was  not  the  slightest  foundation, 
whether  this  ppetended  historian  invented  it  himself  or  not.  He 
must  have  placed  great  reliance  upon  the  prejudiced  credulity  of 
his  readers,  when  he  ventured  to  write  thus.  But  he  wrote  for 
what  are  called  "  Catholic  countries."  What  was  the  reformer's 
crime?  Attached  to  a  beautiful,  talented,  well-born  female,  he 
married  her.  Maimbourg  was  not  ignorant  of  the  conduct  of 
the  clergy,  of  the  cardinals,  of  the  popes  ;  and  his  manner  of 
writing  amply  justifies  the  accusation  often  brought  against 
Rome,  that  to  break  the  disciplinary  regulations  of  the  church  is 
a  greater  sin  than  to  break  the  law  of  God.  The  priest  who 
violates  his  vow  may  be  forgiven,  if  he  only  does  it  by  breaking 
the  law  of  God ;  but  if  he  enter  a  state  which  the  Scriptures 
declare  to  be  "  honourable  in  all,"  he  is  straightway  (be  it  again 
said,  with  pretended  horror)  reprehended  as  the  mere  slave  of 
passion.  Conscious  of  the  hypocritical  character  of  his  paragraphs, 
the  Jesuit  must  have  laughed  in  his  sleeve  while  penning  them, 
and  hoping  to  make  the  bulk  of  his  readers  believe  what  he  well 
knew  to  be  false. 


216  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

all  great  changes,  Luther  dared  not  venture  on  such  a 
step  as  marriage !  But  "  as  soon  as  the  eyes  of  that 
prince  were  closed  he  felt  himself  placed  at  full  liberty ; 
as  knowing  that  the  new  elector,  in  his  idolatrous  re- 
gard for  this  false  prophet,  would  permit  him  to  act  as 
he  pleased."  It  was  by  such  a  style  of  writing  as  this 
that  the  calm  and  cautious  Seckendorff  was  moved  to 
say,  that  the  professions  of  modesty  with  which  the 
Jesuit  opens  his  history  were  to  be  considered  rather 
as  affected,  or  even  as  ironical,  than  as  serious  and 
sincere. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  June,  1525,  that  this  marriage 
of  Luther  with  Catharine  de  Bora,  the  escaped  nun  of 
Nimpsch,  took  place :  an  event  the  more  interesting 
that  it  set  the  seal  of  example  to  their  mutual  abnega- 
tion of  the  celibate  vow.  This  lady  was  the  daughter 
of  one  of  the  minor  nobles  of  the  Saxon  palatinate, 
whose  want  of  fortune  adequate  to  his  rank  had  con- 
demned her,  early  in  life,  to  the  cloister.  After  her 
flight  from  the  conventual  durance,  in  which  she  had 
passed  some  seven  or  eight  years,  she  was  supported, 
at  Luther's  instance,  as  were  also  her  companions,  by 
the  electoral  bounty.  The  immediate  cause  of  her 
renouncing  the  veil  having  been  Luther's  treatise  on 
the  obligation  of  the  monastic  oath,  it  was  not  unnatural 
that  when  brought  into  daily  contact  with  the  author 
of  a  work  which  to  her  had  been  the  signal  of  restored 
liberty,  and  in  some  sort  made  dependant  upon  his  pro- 
tection, the  warm  and  grateful  regard  engendered  by 
these  circumstances  should  ripen  into  personal  affec- 
tion. Luther  himself,  entertaining  a  high  opinion  of 
her  character,  had  promoted  the  suit  of  his  friend  Glass, 
the  reformed  pastor  of  Orlamunde,  who  was  passion- 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  217 

ately  attached  to  her ;  but  from  becoming  the  wife  of 
that  divine,  Catharine  recoiled.  It  has  not  uncom- 
monly been  represented,  that  this  marriage  was  an 
arrangement  of  mere  convenience,  involving  little  of 
attachment  on  either  side.  We  are  mistaken,  however, 
if  the  delicate  hint  given  by  the  emancipated  recluse 
to  Amsdorff,  on  his  proposing  to  her  to  unite  herself  to 
the  curate  of  Orlamunde,  did  not  betray  a  cordial  and 
decided  preference  for  Luther.  The  gentle  and  half- 
playful  intimation  that  even  he,  the  mediator  in  the 
business,  or  his  illustrious  friend,  would  have  been  a 
more  agreeable  selection,  is  just  one  of  those  equivocal 
and  disguised  betrayals  in  which  an  amiable  and  re- 
tiring woman  may  be  supposed  to  have  allowed  the 
secret  of  her  affections  to  escape  her.  So  at  least 
Luther  seems  to  have  thought ;  for  although  he  had 
previously  encouraged  other  suitors  to  address  his  fair 
disciple,  probably  under  an  impression  that  a  conjugal 
connection  with  himself  could  hardly  be  desirable  to 
her,  he  now,  with  a  promptitude  indicative  of  any  feel- 
ing rather  than  indifference,  offered  her  his  hand. 
Admiration  of  her  virtues,  coupled  as  they  were  with 
the  possession  of  accomplishments  that  rarely  adorned 
the  feminine  intellect  in  those  days,  he  had  always  and 
fervently  professed.  We  are  also  told  that  she  was 
beautiful,  a  charm  to  which  Luther's  enthusiasm  for 
music  and  the  arts  proves  him  to  have  been  exquisitely 
sensible. 

This  alliance,  which  Luther  states  to  have  been  in 
accordance  with  the  earnest  wish  of  his  father,  and 
which  was  the  main  earthly  solace  of  a  life  led  in  the 
midst  of  a  thousand  difficulties  and  heart-burnings,  was 
generally,  but  somewhat  unreasonably,  censured,  even 
10 


218  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

by  his  friends.  Not  that  they  saw  cause  to  be  dissa- 
tisfied with  the  particular  choice  which  he  had  made  ; 
on  the  contrary,  every  one  allowed  the  excellence  of 
Catherine  de  Bora ;  but  because  they  looked  upon  his 
marriage  with  any  person  as  unseasonable,  and  were 
apprehensive  lest  the  endearing  and  new  ties  of  coming 
years  should  warp  the  mind  of  their  apostle  from  its 
former  vigilance  in  guarding  and  directing  the  salient 
spirit  of  the  Reformation.  Melancthon,  indeed,  writing 
to  Camerarius  upon  the  subject,  intimates^a  hope  that, 
ill-timed  as  he  considered  the  recent  union  to  have 
been,  the  fiery  and  stern  spirit  of  Luther  migl^t,  in  the 
bland  atmosphere  of  domestic  love,  be  soothed  and 
purged  from  its  constitutional  asperities. 

The  Papists,  on  the  other  hand,  were  ready,  with  a 
variety  of  slanderous  inventions,  to  feed  fat  the  ancient 
grudge  they  bore  to  the  reformer,  by  piling  the  same 
obloquy  upon  the  head  of  his  young  bride  which  they 
had  long  been  used  to  cast  upon  himself.  Among  many 
and  equally  malignant  absurdities,  his  defamers  raked 
up  the  prophecy  of  some  nameless  astrological  dotard 
of  the  dark  ages,  who  had  foretold  that  antichrist 
should  be  the  issue  of  a  perjured  vestal  and  an  apostate 
monk  :  a  prediction  which,  as  Erasmus,  with  the  covert 
and  sly  irony  in  which  he  delighted,  took  occasion  to 
remark,  had  been  so  often  accomplished,  that  Europe 
must  have  seen  many  hundred  editions  of  antichrist 
before  either  Luther  or  his  wife  were  born. 

Marriage,  however,  produced  no  relaxation  in  the 
arduous  labours  of  the  reformer.  The  refreshment 
which  he  derived  from  the  society  of  his  new  associate, 
and  who  proved  to  be  indeed  a  "  help  meet  for  him," 
only  strengthened  him  for  renewed  application  to  hi3 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  219 

beloved  employments.  He  this  year  wrote  Annotations 
on  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy ;  in  the  preface  to  which 
he  evinced  the  sound  judgment  with  which  he  con- 
sidered the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  generally. 
"  What  else  is  the  New  Testament,"  he  asks,  "  but,  in 
effect,  an  open  declaration  of  the  various  sentences  and 
promises  of  the  Old,  all  now  fulfilled  and  completed  by 
Jesus  Christ  ?"  He  fails  not,  of  course,  to  bring  for- 
ward his  favourite  subject,  genuine  obedience  to  God, 
springing  from  "the  faith  which  worketh  by  love." 
Thus,  on  the  fifth  verse  of  the  sixth  chapter  he  writes  : 
"  When  he  says,  '  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord,'  he  excites 
to  a  free  and  cheerful  service  of  ,God.  For  when  I  love 
God,  then  do  I  will  all  things  that  God  wills ;  nor  is  any- 
thing more  sweet  than  to  hear  and  do  the  things  which 
God  commands.  As  by  faith  we  receive  all  things  freely 
from  God,  so  by  love  we  do  all  things  freely  for  God." 
The  reader  is  almost  tempted  to  smile  when  he 
finds  him  most  correctly,  but  at  the  same  time  most 
adroitly,  referring  to  the  principles  which  justified  his 
own  earnestness  and  zeal :  "  If  I  love  God  with  my 
whole  heart,  nothing  will  more  offend  me  than  any 
contemptuous  treatment  of  the  commands  of  God.  So 
did  Paul  mourn  and  weep  to  the  Corinthians  and  Ga- 
lations,  when  he  saw  the  glory  of  God  trampled  upon. 
But  where  are  they  now  who  would  lament  to  see  the 
name  of  God  trampled  under  foot  throughout  the  whole 
world?"  Very  significant  also  is  the  brief  remark 
pointedly  applicable  to  many  of  the  objectors  to  his  re- 
cent marriage  :  "  How  perverse  are  they  who  are  so 
careful  to  exact  obedience  to  their  own  sayings  and 
appointments,  but  who  suffer  the  precepts  of  God  to 
be  neglected !" 


220  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

The  same  month  which  saw  the  illustrious  elector- 
palatine  laid  in  the  grave,  witnessed  also  the  first  im- 
position of  unepiscopal  hands  upon  an  evangelical 
preacher  (Rorarius)  at  Wittenberg.  By  this  ordina- 
tion Luther  gave  a  further  proof  of  his  daily  increasing 
departure  from  the  prescriptive  usages  of  the  Romish 
hierarchy.  In  the  prosecution  of  his  war  against  the 
various  corruptions  of  the  Papacy,  he  had  been  drawn 
onward,  step  by  step,  in  a  keen  investigation  of  the 
origin  of  the  pontifical  supremacy.  Of  that  investiga- 
tion, one  incident  result  was  a  conviction  in  his  own 
mind  that  the  episcopal  office,  as  it  then  existed,  and 
with  the  claims  which  it  then  put  forth,  was  only  of 
human  institution,  and  that  it  was  not  the  exlusively- 
appointed  method  of  conveying  ecclesiastical  authority 
for  the  exercise  of  the  functions  of  the  ministry.  It  is 
one  thing  to  believe  that  the  episcopal  form  of  church 
government  is  a  lawful  one,  and  that  there  are  passages 
of  Scripture  which  abundantly  justify  the  exercise  of 
inspection  and  authority  over  both  churches  and  minis- 
ters by  one  person,  himself  only  a  minister  like  his 
brethren,  and  placed,  perhaps,  by  themselves  in  au- 
thority over  them  for  the  sake  both  of  peace  and  order, 
and  a  more  efficient  government ; — it  is  one  thing  to 
believe  that  such  a  mode  of  government  is  lawful,  is 
useful,  is  countenanced  by  Scripture  ;  but  another,  and 
a  very  different  thing,  to  suppose  that  the  bishop  is  an 
officer  appointed  by  Christ  himself,  by  whom  only  cer- 
tain ministerial  functions  are  to  be  performed,  and  who 
constitutes,  solely  and  exclusively,  the  principle  of  visi- 
ble ecclesiastical  union.  The  office  itself,  as  implying 
ministerial  and  extended  oversight,  is  undoubtedly  of 
high  antiquity  in  the  Christian  church,  and  may  easily 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  221 

be  conceived  to  be  one  of  great  spiritual  advantage ; 
but  surely  it  forfeits  its  real  dignity,  and  endangers  its 
strongest  claim,  in  the  approbation  of  thoughtful  Chris- 
tians, when  it  assumes  to  be  the  sole  depository  of 
some  authority  delegated  from  Christ,  necessary  to  the 
existence  of  the  church,  and  essential  to  the  validity 
of  the  ministerial  character,  and  the  efficacy  of  the 
ministerial  functions.  Not  on  this  ground  did  men 
like  Jewell  rest  their  arguments  in  its  favour.  "  I 
grant,"  said  that  eminent  writer  and  ornament  of  the 
English  Episcopal  bench,  "  that  the  primates  had  au- 
thority over  other  inferior  bishops.  Howbeit,  they  had 
it  by  agreement  and  custom,  but  neither  by  Christ,  nor 
by  Peter  or  Paul,  nor  by  any  right  of  God's  word. 
St.  Hierome  saith,  '  Let  bishops  understand  that  they 
are  above  priests  rather  of  custom  than  of  any  truth  or 
right  of  Christ's  institution,  and  that  they  ought  to  rule 
the  church  together.'  And  again,  '  Therefore  a  priest 
and  a  bishop  are  both  one  thing ;  and  before  that,  by 
the  inflaming  of  the  devil,  parts  were  taken  in  religion, 
and  then  words  were  uttered  among  the  people,  I  am 
of  Paul,  I  am  of  Apollos,  I  am  of  Peter,  the  churches 
were  governed  by  the  common  advice  of  the  priests.' 
And  St.  Augustine  saith,  '  The  office  of  a  bishop  is 
above  the  office  of  a  priest,'  (not  by  authority  of  the 
Scriptures,  but)  '  after  the  names  of  honour  which  the 
custom  of  the  church  hath  now  obtained.' " 

The  position  which  Luther  took  was  such  as  might 
have  been  expected  from  his  strong  sense  and  habitual 
reference  to  the  sacred  volume.  He  took  the  general 
ground,  that  by  the  ministry  were  candidates  for  the 
ministry  to  be  examined  and  sent  forth.  That  this 
examination  and  authorization  had  been  confined  to 


222  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

the  bishops  or  overseers,  he  saw  to  be  a  matter  of 
by-law,  of  ecclesiastical  regulation.  Whereas,  it  was 
plain  that  upon  him  and  his  coadjutors  devolved  the 
duty  of  supplying  with  an  efficient  ministry  the  churches 
which  he  had  reformed  or  raised  up.  He  preached 
the  word  of  God  ;  converts  were  multiplied  ;  they  re- 
quired spiritual  supervision ;  and  from  the  men  who 
were  their  fathers  in  the  Lord  they  had  a  right  to 
look  for  it.  And  in  this  there  was  succession,  even 
visibly,  so  far  as  the  ministry  was  concerned ;  but 
especially  there  was  fellowship  with  the  apostles  by 
identity  of  doctrine,  of  spirit,  of  labour.  And  there 
was  fellowship  with  Christ  by  direct  and  personal 
faith  on  their  part,  and  by  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  and 
the  recognition  of  their  labours,  on  his  part.  They 
who  were  one  with  Christ  had,  in  and  through  Christ, 
part  in  the  communion  of  saints,  and  in  the  true  fel- 
lowship of  the  universal  church. 

This  was  the  solid  and  liberal  position  which  Lu- 
ther assumed.  Not,  surely,  ignorant  of  the  writings 
of  the  fathers,  nor  recklessly  bent  on  rearing  up  a  new 
fabric  according  to  the  mere  dictates  of  his  own  ca- 
price, he  could  find,  neither  in  those  writings,  nor  in 
the  far  more  estimable  remains  of  their  inspired  pre- 
decessors, no  imperative  rule  laid  down,  no  absolute 
model  of  the  form  of  a  Christian  community  prescribed 
for  universal  imitation.  Persuaded  that  a  precise 
moulding  of  the  young  church  of  the  Reformation  to 
the  literal  shape,  and  the  internal  discipline,  which 
existed  in  the  days  of  primeval  Christianity,  was  in  no 
respect  binding  upon  him,  his  clear  and  strong  sense 
perceived  that  the  best  constitution  of  a  religious  body 
was  that  which,  recognising  original  principles,  and 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  223 

adapting  itself  to  instant  circumstances,  tended  most  to 
develop  and  to  keep  alive  practical  and  fervent  piety 
in  its  members  ;  while  his  masculine  self-reliance,  and 
habit  of  acting  on  conviction,  outweighed  whatever 
vestiges  of  predilection  for  an  ancient  usage  may  have 
lingered  in  his  thoughts.  Nor  did  he  fail  to  appreciate 
and  gratefully  acknowledge  the  provident  wisdom 
which,  foreseeing  the  emergence  of  events,  such  as 
had  recently  occurred  in  Germany,  had  left  Christians, 
in  all  ages,  free  to  adopt  such  particular  modes  of 
church  government  as  should  be  suitable  to  the  actual 
conditions  of  their  time.  In  truth,  Luther  appears  to 
have  willingly  postponed  the  regular  digest  and  forma- 
tion of  a  new  scheme  of  polity  until  those  circumstan- 
tial hints,  which  he  well  knew  to  be  no  issues  of 
chance,  had  so  multiplied  around  him,  as  to  indicate 
the  exact  figure  and  organization  into  which  it  would 
be  most  expedient  finally  to  conform  the  Christian 
society  that  was  springing  up  under  his  pastoral  care. 
The  ordination  to  which  we  have  adverted  was  the 
first  overt  expression  of  his  entire  liberation  from  the 
superstitions  regarding  the  episcopal  consecration  of 
priests  ;  but  it  was  not  till  some  years  later  that,  after 
deliberating  long,  and  taking  anxious  and  frequent 
counsel  with  the  wisest  of  his  pious  associates,  he  de- 
finitively fixed  upon  a  plan  for  the  framework  and 
mechanism  of  the  evangelical  church. 

The  remainder  of  the  year  was  not  spent  by  Luther 
in  idleness.  The  emperor  was  now  in  Spain,  busily 
.  engaged  in  those  plans  to  which  the  prolonged  cap- 
tivity of  his  rival  gave  rise.  And  the  additional  power 
which  he  had  thus  acquired,  had  awakened  the  fears 
of  Clement,  who,  that  he  might  protect  the  interests 


224  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

of  Italy  in  general,  and  of  the  holy  see  in  particular, 
was  not  unwilling  to  join  the  league  that  the  queen- 
mother  of  France  was  seeking  to  form  in  behalf  of  her 
imprisoned  son.  Ferdinand,  who  ruled  in  his  brother's 
name  in  Germany,  was  not  ignorant  of  this,  and  was 
not,  on  his  part,  unwilling  to  play  the  Protestants 
against  the  pope.  Seeming  to  condemn  them,  even 
the*  power  that  might  have  been  opposed  to  them  was 
not  exerted  ;  and  thus  the  mutual  jealousies  of  the 
head  of  the  empire  and  the  head  of  the  church  gave 
opportunity  to  the  reformers  to  apply  themselves,  with 
their  wonted  assiduity,  to  the  work  of  their  providen- 
tial vocation. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year,  Luther  replied  to  the 
treatise  published  by  Erasmus  the  year  before.  He 
did  not  enter  so  much  into  metaphysical  distinctions, 
as  into  what  appeared  to  him  to  be  the  great  facts  of 
Scripture.  Whatever  Erasmus  might  say,  as  a  phi- 
losopher, on  human  power,  he  met  by  the  saying  of 
Christ,  "  Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing ;"  and  by  that 
of  St.  Paul,  "  It  is  God  that  worketh  in  us  to  will 
and  to  do."  He  asserted  the  bondage  of  the  will  by 
reason  of  sin ;  and  declared  that  man  could  "  do  all 
things"  only  through  "Christ  strengthening  him." 

Erasmus  himself  presents  a  melancholy  example  of 
talents,  not  indeed  totally  hidden  and  buried,  but  yet 
withheld  from  the  object  in  favour  of  which  they  would 
have  been  most  successfully  employed.  He  possessed 
what,  for  the  day,  were  immense  stores  of  learning,^ 
and  he  saw,  and  at  the  same  time  keenly  animadverted 
upon,  the  vices  of  the  Papal  system.  WThether  inten- 
tionally or  not,  he  had  pointed  out  the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  reform ;  but  when  the  work  of  reform  com- 


ft 


s 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  225 

menced,  lie  could  not  persuade  himself  to  join  in  its 
labours,  and  to  expose  himself  to  its  dangers.  He 
was  rather  a  man  of  learning  than  of  religion.  He 
saw  the  disease,  but  he  understood  not  the  remedy. 
Nor  was  he  willing  either  to  exasperate  his  learned 
friends,  or  to  submit  to  the  obloquy  of  innovation.  He 
had,  indeed,  given  to  the  world  those  vivid  descriptions 
of  the  reigning  corruptions  of  the  priesthood  which 
stimulated  the  desire  of  change,  in  many  instances, 
into  a  passion  ;  and  his  caustic  and  satirical  denunci- 
ations were,  in  point  of  fact,  as  thoroughly  opposed  to 
Romanism,  as  the  more  serious  and  argumentative, 
though  equally  bitter,  invectives  of  Luther  himself. 
But  he  shrunk  from  the  tumult  he  had  contributed  to 
excite.  Though  conversant  with  religious  subjects, 
he  had  not  imbibed  the  religious  spirit ;  nor  could  he 
at  all  understand  the  fervent  and  entire  devotion  of 
Luther  to  the  cause  of  truth,  considered  as  the  cause 
of  God  and  his  Christ.  The  errors  and  mistakes  of 
the  great  reformer,  who  was  yet  only  a  man,  he,  in  his 
leisure  and  coolness,  could  easily  detect ;  and  some 
atonement  for  his  attacks  on  the  Papacy  he  now  en- 
deavoured to  make,  by  attacking  Luther  likewise. 
He  himself  disclosed  his  own  character  when  he  said 
that  he  had  not  courage  to  be  a  martyr.  Profess- 
ing to  condemn  the  manner  and  style  of  Luther,  he  in 
reality  condemned  the  very  substance  of  his  cause  when 
he  said,  "  Although  Luther  had  never  written  anything 
which  was  not  in  itself  good,  I  should  nevertheless 
have  been  much  offended  by  the  seditious  freedom  of 
his  manner.  /  would  rather  be  wrong  in  some  particu- 
lars, than  make  such  a  disturbance  in  the  world  for  the 
sake  of  truth" 

10* 


M. 


226  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

Such  was  Erasmus .  The  centuries  that  have  elapsed 
since  his  removal  have  amply  illustrated  the  providen- 
tial law,  "  Them  that  honour  me  I  will  honour."  As 
contributing  to  a  restored  literature,  Erasmus  is  re- 
membered by  a  few  :  as  having  been  the  great  instru- 
ment of  reviving  religion,  Luther  is  remembered  by  all 
to  whom  religious  truth  and  purity  are  dear.  Erasmus 
sought  to  win  the  favour  of  both  parties,  by  attacking 
the  opponents  of  each;  and  eventually  he  lost  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  all. 

Before  the  year  ended,  Luther  addressed  concili- 
atory letters  to  some  of  his  opponents,  and,  among 
them,  to  Henry  VIII.  of  England.  To  him  he  said, 
"I  teach  nothing  else  but  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  the 
Son  of  God,  who  for  us  suffered,  and  was  raised  up, 
that  he  might  accomplish  our  salvation,  as  the  Gospels 
and  apostolical  Epistles  testify.  For  this  is  the  head 
and  foundation  of  my  doctrine,  on  which  I  afterward 
proceed  to  build,  teaching  charity  to  our  neighbour, 
obedience  to  the  civil  magistrate,  and  the  crucifixion 
of  the  body  of  sin,  as  it  is  prescribed  by  Christian 
doctrine."  Luther,  in  fact,  had  lost  none  of  his  zeal 
by  becoming  a  family  man.  To  the  work  that  Provi- 
dence had  opened  before  him  he  was  as  ardently  de- 
voted as  ever,  and  as  plainly  as  ever  did  the  blessing 
of  God  rest  on  his  labours. 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  227 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Duke  John  of  Saxony  having  succeeded  to  the  elec- 
torate, gave  his  warm  adherence  to  the  cause  of  the 
Reformation.  During  the  life-time  of  his  elder  bro- 
ther, he  had  held  much  intercourse  with  the  heads  of 
the  Lutheran  party ;  and  profiting  by  their  instruc- 
tions, as  well  as  by  the  example  of  his  more  aged 
relation,  he  was  no  sooner  elevated  to  the  supreme 
power,  than  he  resolved  to  employ  all  his  influence  in 
upholding  and  carrying  on  the  work  of  purification  in 
the  national  church.  To  this  end  he  issued  a  commis- 
sion, appointing  Luther,  Melancthon,  Justus  Jonas,  and 
the  chief  of  the  Wittenberg  divines,  together  with  certain 
eminent  civilians,  to  visit  and  inquire  into  the  state  of 
the  religious  institutions  of  the  country.  The  conse- 
quences of  this  visitation,  which  the  reformers  had 
long  sought  to  bring  about,  were,  to  the  people  at 
large,  among  the  most  sensibly  beneficial  effects  of  the 
new  order  of  things.  The  permanent  stipends  of  the 
clergy  being  reduced  nearly  to  a  common  level,  while  the 
burden  of  tithes  was  mitigated,  and  all  those  subsidiary 
emoluments  resolutely  cut  away,  which,  consisting 
principally  of  fees  for  confession,  and  other  illegal 
offices,  had  borne  heavily  upon  the  poorer  classes,  a 
searching  reform  through  all  the  details  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  religion  was  carried  into  effect.  Another 
and  no  less  advantageous  alteration  was  the  breaking 
up  of  the  monastic  fraternities,  and  the  appropriation 
of  a  small  part  of  their  ample  funds  to  the  uses  of  a 
system  of  popular  education,  which,  however,  had  the 


228  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

grave  faults  of  being  neither  well  digested,  nor  suffi- 
ciently extensive.  Notwithstanding  the  general  desire 
of  the  elector  John  to  tread  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
brother,  and  especially  to  follow  up  those  measures 
of  correction  which  the  latter  had  contemplated,  he 
was  unfortunately  wanting  in  the  moderation,  fore- 
thought, and  resolution  which  so  admirably  character- 
ized that  sovereign.  Without  the  firmness  and  ability 
necessary  to  withstand  the  arts  by  which  not  a  few  of 
the  privileged  rank  sought  to  enrich  themselves  at  the 
expense  of  the  public  interest,  he  suffered  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  lands  and  property  of  the  monasteries  to 
pass  into  the  hands  of  the  nobility  ;  a  change  which, 
though  it  did  not  entirely  neutralize  the  relief  afforded 
to  the  inferior  population  of  the  country,  by  the  dimi- 
nution of  the  church's  demands,  and  the  distribution 
of'  her  treasure,  was  in  itself  equally  inequitable  and 
impolitic.  A  considerable  amount  was  thus  added  to 
the  revenues  of  an  aristocracy  already  deeply  guilty 
of  oppression,  which  in  strict  justice  ought  to  have 
been  applied  to  ameliorate  the  moral  and  social  condi- 
tion of  the  people.  It  is  true,  that  to  some  considera- 
ble extent  the  peasantry  were  indirectly  benefited  by 
the  transition,  inasmuch  as  the  augmented  resources 
of  their  lords  enabled  them  to  dispense  with  several 
of  the  severest  imposts  of  past  years  ;  but,  while 
the  too  prevalent  exhaustion  and  sordid  poverty  of 
the  labouring  masses  should  have  commanded  far 
more  ample  and  immediate  redress  than  they  received, 
it  may  be  doubted  whether,  in  any  event,  the  barons 
would  have  been  the  proper  depositaries  of  any  sur- 
plus of  wealth  confiscated  to  the  state. 

But  if,  in  this  arrangement,  the  new  elector  betray- 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  229 

ed  a  conspicuous  defect  of  energy  and  just  determina- 
tion, he  was  frequently  in  danger  of  erring  on  the 
opposite  score  of  impetuosity,  and  of  obstinate  ad- 
herence to  his  own  opinions,  which  sometimes  border- 
ed on  illiberality,  and  even  perverseness.  In  his 
eagerness  to  be  rid  of  all  traces  of  the  ancient  super- 
stition, he  would  have  prohibited,  under  rigid  penalties, 
the  celebration  of  the  mass  within  the  precincts  of  the 
electorate,  had  not  Luther  interposed  to  dissuade  him 
from  thus  bringing  the  odium  of  persecution  on  the 
very  infancy  of  a  faith  which,  reposing  on  the  word 
of  God,  and  asserting  the  universal  responsibility  of 
man,  maintained  a  coextensive  liberty  of  conscience. 
Even  to  the  expostulations  of  the  man  who  had  been 
the  first  to  lay  bare  the  rottenness  and  various  impos- 
ture of  the  Church  of  Rome  he  would  yield  no  further 
than  to  grant  a  reluctant  toleration  to  the  private  per- 
formance of  the  ceremony.  The  same  infirmities  were 
again  manifested  in  the  premature  formation  of  a  league 
for  mutual  defence  with  the  landgrave  of  Hesse  ;  who 
having,  like  himself,  zealously  adopted  the  principles  of 
the  reformers,  would  have  needed  little  prompting  to  at- 
tempt to  propagate  them  by  the  sword.  Against  that 
compact  the  Lutheran  divines  raised  their  united  voice, 
admonishing  the  contractors  as  well  of  the  probability 
of  their  alliance  being  construed  by  the  Papal  minions 
of  the  imperial  court  into  a  species  of  challenge  to  still 
more  hostile  activity,  as  of  the  utter  faithlessness  it 
disclosed  in  that  providential  wisdom  which  had  so 
remarkably  shielded  the  Reformation  from  the  perils 
that  hung  upon  its  birth.  In  addition  to  these  warn- 
ings, they  deprecated  the  idea  of  resorting  to  secular 
force  for  the  defence  of  religious  opinions  ;  and  insist- 


230  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

ed  that  an  appeal  to  arms  would,  under  any  combina- 
tion of  circumstances,  be  alike  inexpedient  and  unjus- 
tifiable. It  will  be  thought  by  many,  that,  in  this 
instance,  the  remonstrants  carried  their  aversion  to  the 
use  of  the  carnal  weapon  in  protection  of  moral  truth 
greatly  too  far.  But  if  the  abstract  notions  implied  in 
their  protest  involved  rather  too  much  of  passive  sub- 
mission to  be  in  harmony  with  the  modem  theory  of 
human  rights,  there  can  at  least  be  no  question  that, 
in  regard  to  the  particular  case  to  which  their  obser- 
vations pointed,  if  they  were  wrong  at  all,  their  error 
lay  on  the  safer  side,  and  evinced  more  fully  the 
strength  of  their  religious  principles.  As  to  the  two 
princes,  they  took  small  heed  of  the  objections  of  their 
spiritual  counsellors.  Stimulated  by  the  hostile  exam- 
ple of  their  mutual  relation,  George  of  Saxony,  whose 
inveteracy  against  the  reformers  age  only  served  to 
whet,  they  lost  no  time  in  binding  themselves  by  treaty 
to  assist  one  another  in  protecting  the  independence 
of  their  respective  territories,  and  the  supposed  inter- 
ests of  their  common  faith.  The  ostensible  object  of 
this  treaty  was  no  doubt  commendable  ;  but  neither 
can  it  be  denied  that  the  needless  temerity  and  pre- 
paration for  assault  which  it  discovered  had  precisely 
the  effect  which  Luther  and  his  coadvisers  had  fore- 
seen. It  was  a  contract  which,  by  its  anticipative 
provision  against  contingent  dangers,  awoke  the  jealous 
forecast  of  the  Romish  faction,  and  invited  the  on- 
slaught which  it  proposed  to  avert.  True,  the  time 
came,  and  that  at  no  great  distance  from  the  date  of 
this  precocious  league,  when  there  remained  no  alter- 
native for  the  Protestant  rulers  but  that  of  uncompro- 
mising resistance  to  the  mandates  of  the  emperor  and 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  231 

the  diet ;  but  whether  the  arrival  of  that  crisis  was  not 
accelerated,  while  the  means  available  for  a  successful 
opposition  were  in  a  proportional  degree  curtailed,  by 
thus  forestalling  them,  may  be  a  question  with  those 
who  look  deeper  than  the  surface  for  the  final  springs 
of  every  great  historical  movement. 

In  connection  with  this  transaction,  Philip  of  Hesse 
assumed  for  his  own  section  of  the  Reformed  Church 
the  title  of  Evangelical ;  a  denomination  of  which  no 
one  was  more  ready  than  Luther  himself  to  advise  the 
general  adoption  by  his  adherents  throughout  Germany. 

Shortly  before  these  matters  came  into  agitation, 
the  pope,  displeased  with  the  inaction  of  the  imperial 
Papists,  and  alarmed  by  the  ambitious  designs  of 
Charles  V.  on  northern  Italy,  had  withdrawn  his  coun- 
tenance from  the  emperor,  and  concluded  a  treaty  of 
neutrality  with  his  rival,  Francis.  The  momentary 
successes  of  the  French  sovereign  in  the  Milanese, 
and  the  approaching  defection  from  the  imperial  inte- 
rest of  the  Florentine  republic,  encouraged  him  to  ex- 
pect that  by  balancing  the  power  of  one  monarch 
against  the  meditated  invasions  of  the  other,  he  should 
be  able  to  maintain  the  attitude  of  an  arbiter  between 
them,  and  preserve  the  influence  of  the  triple  crown 
inviolate  and  supreme.  In  this  hope,  he  endeavoured 
to  negotiate  a  general  peace  ;  but  upon  terms  which, 
stipulating  for  the  independence  of  the  Italian  provinces, 
were  peremptorily  rejected  by  the  emperor.  The 
refusal  of  Charles  to  accede  to  the  proposed  adjust- 
ment of  this  quarrel  with  the  king  of  France  was  the 
signal  for  Florence  to  abandon  the  imperial  standard, 
and  subscribe  the  paction  which  Francis  was  then  on 
the  point  of  concluding  with  the  pontiff.     Thus  de- 


232  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

prived  of  his  two  most  powerful  allies,  at  a  moment 
when  the  aspect  of  the  war  was  anything  but  propi- 
tious, Charles  V.  had  neither  leisure  nor  inclination  to 
run  the  hazard  of  attempting  to  coerce  the  increasing 
strength  of  the  reformers.  His  continued  absence 
from  the  scene  of  their  proceedings  was  another  cir- 
cumstance in  favour  of  the  Evangelical  party,  as  it  not 
merely  precluded  him  from  personally  intermeddling 
with  their  operations,  but  kept  in  abeyance  a  sanction 
which,  had  he  been  present  in  Germany,  would  have 
aggravated,  to  a  formidable  extent,  the  power  of  their 
oppugners. 

The  calculations  of  the  pontificate  were,  however, 
totally  defeated  by  the  capture  of  Francis  at  the  battle 
of  Pavia ;  a  result  as  unexpected  as  it  was  decisive, 
and  which  at  once  raised  the  emperor  to  a  position 
which  entitled  him  to  dictate,  at  his  own  pleasure,  the 
conditions  of  pacification.  It  is  not  improbable  that, 
after  this  event,  Charles  would  have  exerted  himself 
vigorously  to  put  down  the  Reformation,  had  he  not 
cherished  a  vindictive  remembrance  of  the  pontiff's 
readiness  to  desert  him,  on  the  first  occasion  which 
the  contest  afforded  of  seeking  to  recover  the  ancient 
and  effective  predominance  of  the  see  of  Rome.  Irri- 
tated by  what  he,  not  unreasonably,  deemed  an  act 
of  dastardly  perfidiousness,  while,  nevertheless,  he  had 
no  wish  to  see  the  empire  overrun  with  the  Lutheran 
opinions,  he  was  content  simply  to  instruct  the  arch- 
duke Ferdinand  to  convene  another  assembly  of  the 
diet,  for  the  purpose  of  once  more  considering  how  to 
accomplish  a  settlement,  alike  satisfactory  and  con- 
clusive, of  the  religious  disagreements  which  divided 
the  judgment  of  the  country.     In  obedience  to  this 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  233 

direction,  the  archduke  of  Austria  again  convoked  the 
diet  to  meet  at  Augsburg,  in  November,  1525.  The 
meeting,  however,  was  so  thinly  attended  that,  after 
having  been  formally  opened,  the  session  was  ad- 
journed to  the  following  midsummer,  to  be  then  held 
at  Spires. 

When  that  period  arrived,  the  success  of  the  re- 
formers' principles  was  more  than  ever  apparent  from 
the  testimony  of  the  Roman  Catholic  members  of  the 
diet,  who,  with  bitter  vexation,  complained  of  the  im- 
possibility of  carrying  into  effect  the  decree  of  Worms  ; 
and  insisted  that,  since  the  pope  had  so  long  delayed 
to  comply  with  the  demand  of  a  former  senate,  it  was 
incumbent  on  the  emperor  to  use  the  authority  which 
rested  in  him  as  suzerain  of  the  electoral  fiefs,  by  calling 
together,  on  his  own  responsibility,  a  general  council 
for  the  effectual  arbitration  of  all  theological  dissen- 
sions. The  open  celebration  in  the  dietary  city  of  the 
Evangelical  worship,  and  the  bold  reiteration  by  the 
confederate  princes  of  Hesse  and  Saxony  of  complaints 
against  the  state  of  the  Roman  Church  in  Germany, 
did  indeed  excite  some  of  the  more  violent  clients  of 
the  Papacy  to  press  for  a  reinforcement  of  the  law 
pronounced  upon  the  Lutherans  in  a  previous  year. 
But  the  archduke,  aware  of  the  relations  presently  sub- 
sisting between  his  imperial  brother  and  the  holy  see, 
would  not  permit  the  assembly  to  disperse  until  they 
had  recorded  a  resolution,  inviting  the  emperor,  within 
twelve  months  from  the  date  of  that  sitting,  to  convene 
a  council  of  theologians  and  prelates,  in  which  he  him- 
self should  preside  ;  and  impowering  each  of  the  Ger- 
manic states,  in  the  mean  time,  to  take  such  order  in 
matters  of  religion  as  its  rulers  might  approve ;  they 


234  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

being  held  responsible  to  the  future   convocation  for 
their  exercise  of  the  discretion  so  intrusted  to  them. 

This  resolution  (which,  being  in  the  nature  of  a  tem- 
porary and  provisional  decree,  has,  from  that  circum- 
stance, been  styled  the  Interim)  was  eminently  adapted 
to  promote  the  oncarriage  of  the  Reformation.  Besides 
suspending  for  an  indefinite  period  the  legal  proscrip- 
tion which  had  long  hung  over  the  Evangelical  doc- 
trine, it  revived  a  principle  of  national  self-sovereignty, 
which,  striking  at  the  base  of  the  pontifical  usurpations, 
was  certain,  in  the  course  of  years,  to  grow  in  favour 
with  the  community  at  large,  and  gradually  to  under- 
mine the  structure  of  ecclesiastical  despotism.  Though 
often  afterward  suppressed,  kept  out  of  sight,  and 
even  sometimes  expressly  disavowed,  by  many  of  the 
princes,  this  principle  was  never  again  totally  eradi- 
cated from  the  German  mind.  It  was  a  point  of  union, 
around  which,  on  every  appropriate  occasion,  the 
common  feeling  of  the  empire  was  prone  to  gather. 
It  arrayed  the  sentiment  of  patriotism  on  the  side  of 
the  reforming  champions;  and,  under-flowing  all  the 
schisms  and  distractions  of  a  century,  slowly,  but 
steadily,  swept  out  of  the  country  the  effective  predo- 
minance of  the  Papal  sceptre. 

The  year  1526  was  remarkable  for  the  providential 
facilities  which  it  afforded  for  the  promotion  of  the 
work  which  Luther  had  so  much  at  heart ;  and  he  was 
neither  unobservant  of  the  opportunity,  nor  slow  to  avail 
himself  of  it.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  a  treaty 
was  signed  at  Madrid  between  Francis  and  Charles, 
greatly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  royal  captive.  He 
bound  himself,  however,  by  a  solemn  oath  to  observe 
it ;  and  was  in  consequence  restored  to  liberty  and  his 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  235 

kingdom.  The  power  of  Charles  now  became  more 
than  ever  an  object  of  apprehension  to  Clement,  one 
of  whose  favourite  schemes  was  the  restoration  to 
Italy  of  political  independence.  Negotiations  were 
commenced,  therefore,  with  the  French  king,  which 
issued  in  the  formation  of  a  confederacy  against  the 
ambitious  designs  and  threatening  power  of  Charles. 
Of  this  alliance,  Henry  VIII.  was  declared  "  the  pro- 
tector ;"  and  because  the  pope  appeared  as  one  of  its 
members,  it  was  denominated  "  the  Holy  League."  By 
his  apostolical  authority,  as  it  was  termed,  Clement 
absolved  Francis  from  the  obligation  to  observe  the 
oath  which  he  had  taken  to  perform  faithfully  all  to 
which  he  had  consented  in  the  treaty  of  Madrid. 
Francis,  likewise,  was  willing  to  afford  not  only  coun- 
tenance, but  aid,  to  the  Protestant  ^princes  and  cities 
of  Germany  in  their  dispute  with  the  emperor.  Thus, 
indirectly,  but  not  very  remotely,  the  head  of  the 
church  was  affording  political  support  to  the  very  cause 
which  his  adherents  sought,  by  all  ecclesiastical 
means,  to  annihilate. 

Nor  was  the  conduct  of  the  pope  less  advantageous 
to  the  Protestants  in  another  way.  A  modern  histo- 
rian has  stated  this  very  clearly ;  and  has  pointed  out, 
at  the  same  time,  the  important  bearing  of  the  whole 
upon  the  as  yet  infant  Reformation : — "At  the  moment 
when  the  troops  of  Clement  VII.  marched  into  Upper 
Italy,  the  diet  had  met  at  Spires,  in  order  to  come  to  a 
definite  resolution  concerning  the  errors  of  the  church. 
That  the  imperial  party,  that  Ferdinand  of  Austria, 
who  commanded  in  the  emperor's  place,  and  who  him- 
self entertained  views  on  Milan,  should  feel  any  great 
interest  in  upholding  the  Papal  power  on  the  one  side 


236  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

the  Alps,  while  they  were  vehemently  attacked  by 
that  power  on  the  other,  would  have  been  contrary  to 
the  nature  of  things.  Whatever  had  been  the  former 
intentions  or  professions  of  the  imperial  court,  all  shovr 
of  respect  or  amity  was  put  an  end  to  by  the  open  war 
which  had  broken  out  between  them.  Never  did  the 
towns  declare  themselves  more  freely  ;  never  did  the 
princes  press  more  earnestly  for  redress  of  their  griev- 
ances. The  proposition  was  made  to  burn  the  books 
which  contained  the  new  ordinances,  and  to  acknow- 
ledge no  rule  but  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Although 
there  was  some  opposition,  yet  never  was  a  more  in- 
dependent decision  taken.  Ferdinand  signed  a  decree 
of  the  empire,  in  virtue  of  which  the  states  were  at 
liberty  to  guide  themselves  in  matters  of  religion,  as 
each  could  answer  it  to  God  and  the  emperor, — that 
is,  to  act  according  to  his  own  judgment :  a  decision 
in  which  no  reference  whatever  was  made  to  the  pope, 
and  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  beginning  of  the 
real  Reformation,  the  establishment  of  a  new  church 
in  Germany.  This  decree  was  immediately  adopted 
in  Saxony,  Hesse,  and  the  neighbouring  countries. 
The  Protestant  party  thence  gained  an  immense  step, 
— it  acquired  a  legal  existence."* 

The  fear  of  the  Turks,  likewise,  operated  as  a  pow- 
erful diversion  in  favour  of  the  Lutheran  princes.  For 
many  years  the  empire  had  been  threatened  on  its 
eastern  frontier  ;  and  the  provinces  of  that  part  of 
Europe  had  often  been  laid  waste  by  hordes  of  Asiatic 
barbarians,  then  in  little  more  than  the  prime  of  their 
ruthless  power,  and  whose  situation  at  Constantinople 
gave  them  ready  access  to  the  countries  through  which 
*  Ranke's  "  History  of  the  Popes,"  &c.,  vol.  i,  p.  106. 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  237 

Ohe  Danube  passed.  This  very  year,  Solyman  II.,  in 
revenge  for  the  maltreatment  of  his  ambassadors  by 
the  king  of  Hungary  at  the  advice  of  a  priest,  had  in- 
raded  that  kingdom,  and  defeated  the  forces  of  the 
monarch,  at  Mohacz  :  Lewis  was  himself  slain  in  the 
fight,  and  twelve  thousand  of  his  troops  perished  with 
him.  Solyman  was  now  triumphant,  and  threatened 
to  continue  his  westerly  march,  and  to  overrun  Chris- 
tendom. This  was  not  the  time,  therefore,  for  the  em- 
peror to  hazard  a  rupture  with  his  powerful  vassals. 
Disunited,  it  would  not  be  possible  for  the  empire  to 
withstand  its  potent  foe,  when,  even  united,  his  prowess 
was  so  justly  an  object  of  dread. 

In  the  midst  of  conjectures  like  these,  the  enlighten- 
ed band  at  Wittenberg  continued  their  labours  without 
intermission,  and  with  extending  success.  Luther 
very  earnestly  recommended  that  diligent  attention 
should  be  paid  to  catechising,  particularly  requiring  that 
the  catechisms  should  contain  the  ten  commandments, 
the  creed,  and  the  Lord's  prayer.  He  was  not  con- 
tent with  the  mere  committal  of  the  words  to  memory, 
but  admonished  the  catechisers,  whether  in  the  church 
or  in  the  house,  that  they  should  be  careful,  by  suitable 
explanations  and  questionings,  to  acquaint  the  youthful 
mind  with  the  truths  presented  for  its  instruction. 

He  likewise  carefully  pursued  his  Biblical  studies, 
writing  those  Annotations  on  the  prophetical  books 
which  were  published  the  following  year.  And  with 
all  this  was  connected  diligent  and  earnest  preaching, 
in  which  it  is  plain  that  he  sought  to  instruct  his  hear- 
ers in  the  truth  of  God,  and  to  persuade  them  to  a  full 
evangelical  submission  to  the  will  of  God.  Speaking 
of  a  collection  of  discourses,  referred  to  the  present 


238  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

year,  his  principal  biographer  (SeckendorfT)  gives  what 
seems  to  be  a  correct  account  of  his  preaching  gene- 
rally : — "  These  sermons  appear  to  have  been,  if  not 
all,  yet  certainly  the  greater  part  of  them,  delivered 
extempore,  and  without  much  premeditation  :  both  ex- 
pressing the  mind  of  the  speaker,  and  adapted  to  win 
the  attention  of  the  hearer.  Their  style  was  plain,  and 
often  might  be  considered  irregular  and  bold.  But 
there  is  a  great  and  admirable  copiousness,  and  a 
thorough  soundness  of  doctrine,  fitting  them  for  giving 
instruction  in  the  mysteries  of  the  faith,  for  amend- 
ment of  manners,  for  consoling  the  afflicted,  and  for 
refuting  and  guarding  against  the  errors  of  the  day." 
He  well  understood  the  connection  between  preach- 
ing the  truth  and  salvation.  Referring  to  such  fanatics 
as  Munzer,  who  wanted  to  separate  the  Spirit  from  the 
word,  he  says  :  "  God  was  able  to  divide  the  sea  by 
the  wind  alone,  without  the  rod  of  Moses  ;  but  he  will- 
ed that  it  should  be  employed.  So  when  the  word  of 
God  is  preached,  and  when  the  mind  is  smitten  by  this 
rod,  God  sends  the  Spirit ;  but  he  sends  it  not  without 
the  word."  The  pope  he  represents  as  consulting  for 
souls  by  instituting  pilgrimages,  by  the  invocation  of 
saints,  by  the  publication  of  indulgences.  "  In  this 
way,"  he  says,  "  does  he  seek  to  make  Christians. 
He  has  done  nothing  at  all.  No  one  can  thus  be  con- 
strained to  be  a  believer.  He  is  not  a  Christian  who 
is  called  in  this  manner,  but  whom  God  makes  one. 
God  causes  the  gospel  to  be  preached  in  all  congre- 
gations ;  but  to  whom  he  gives  his  Spirit  and  another 
mind,  him  he  makes  a  Christian.  But  now,  all  over 
the  world,  they  seek  to  make  men  Christians  by  force 
and  violence.     '  If  thou  wilt  not  be  made  a  Christian, 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  239 

say  they, '  we  will  burn  thy  house  for  thee.' "  Secken- 
dorff  well  observes  that  he  condemned  all  violence, 
whether  the  persecuting  compulsion  of  Rome,  or  the 
fanatical  outbreaks  of  the  rustics  under  Munzer.  All 
this  he  thought  was  excited  by  the  devil,  to  hinder  the 
success  of  the  gospel,  and  the  fall  of  the  Papacy.  This 
was  to  be  effected,  he  believed,  in  another  way  than 
by  the  destruction  of  monasteries  and  castles,  even  by 
the  constant  preaching  of  the  truth,  through  which 
alone  was  it  to  be  expected  that  God  would  illuminate 
the  heart,  and  dispel  the  clouds  that  obscured  the  cause 
of  righteousness  and  purity. 

Thus,  while  all  Christendom  appeared  to  be  both 
shadowed  and  agitated,  this  servant  of  God,  unhesi- 
tating in  his  faith,  pursued  his  way  with  a  mingled 
serenity  and  earnestness,  which  proved  that  he  well 
understood  the  reposing  influence  and  prompting  power 
of  a  genuine  belief.  Satisfied  that  his  cause  was  the 
cause  of  God,  he  had  no  fears  as  to  its  issue ;  but,  for 
the  same  reason,  he  allowed  no  shrinking  from  the 
path  of  duty,  no  trifling  in  its  performance.  Misgiv- 
ings he  had  none  :  the  whole  force  of  his  mighty  and 
ardent  spirit,  therefore,  was  expended  upon  his  work. 


240  LWE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Pfrhaps  the  next  period  of  Luther's  life,  reckoning 
from  the  diet  held  at  Spires  in  1526,  when  the  sus- 
pensive decree  was  passed  which,  according  to  Ranke, 
gave  a  legal  existence  to  the  Reformation,  and  extending 
to  the  diet  likewise  held  at  Spires  in  1529,  when  it 
received  the  name  by  which  it  has  since  been  dis- 
tinguished, was  one  of  the  most  important.  The  poli- 
tical events  of  this  period  were  various  and  agitating ; 
some  of  them  most  remarkable  in  their  character,  and 
all  of  them  tending  (as  at  this  distant  day,  and  with 
fuller  knowledge  of  events,  we  are  able  to  perceive)  to 
the  furtherance  of  the  holy  and  benevolent  cause  with 
which  Luther  had  connected  and  identified  himself. 

Most  remarkable  it  is,  that  about  this  time  com- 
menced, on  the  part  of  our  own  eighth  Henry,  the 
indulgence  of  those  doubts  respecting  the  lawfulness 
of  his  marriage  with  his  brother's  widow,  which  have 
produced  such  permanent  and  important  results.  First 
of  all,  by  the  most  Catholic  of  all  Catholic  courts,  the 
court  of  Spain,  had  this  question  been  started,  affecting 
as  it  did  the  legitimacy  of  Mary,  who  was  then  con- 
templated as  the  bride  of  a  Spanish  prince.  Henry, 
very  likely,  entertained  these  doubts  because  of  the 
promise  which  they  seemed  to  give  of  liberty  for  the 
indulgence  of  his  own  passions ;  but  they  certainly 
presented  a  grave  question  of  law,  which  might  be 
discussed  irrespectively  of  the  motives  which  impelled 
the  mind  of  the  king.  The  pope  was  placed  in  a  most 
pitiable  position.     If  he  decided  againt  the  validity  of 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  241 

the  scruple,  Henry  was  offended;  if  in  its  favour, 
Charles.  In  the  one  case,  his  English,  in  the  other 
his  German,  influence  was  threatened.  The  more 
remote  position  of  England  appears  at  last  to  have 
decided  the  movements  of  the  holy  and  infallible  see. 
Charles  was  a  near  neighbour,  closely  connected  with 
Italian  affairs,  both  as  emperor  and  as  king  of  Spain  ; 
Henry  lived  at  a  distance,  and  his  influence  on  conti- 
nental affairs  was  less  immediate.  He  decided  for 
Charles.  Germany  was  not  regained  ;  but  England 
was  lost. 

The  Turks,  too,  pressed  hard  upon  the  empire,  dis- 
united as  it  was  by  religious  differences.  In  fact,  the 
power  of  Charles  was  far  greater  in  appearance  than 
in  reality.  His  empire,  though  so  widely  extended, 
was  not  at  all  consolidated  ;  and  instead  of  the  strength 
of  one  portion  uniting  to  the  strength  of  the  rest,  each, 
by  its  separateness,  tended  to  hinder  the  efficacious 
acting  of  the  rest ;  and  thus,  in  politics,  the  mathema- 
tical axiom,  "  The  whole  is  equal  to  all  its  parts,"  be- 
came not  only  inapplicable,  but,  if  an  index  at  all,  an 
index  by  way  of  opposition  and  contrariety.  The  king 
of  Spain  and  the  emperor  of  Germany  only  united  the 
disadvantages  of  each  position ;  and  the  realization  of 
the  full  strength  of  either,  separately,  much  less  of  both 
combined,  proved,  in  fact,  to  be  completely  impossible. 

If  anything  connected  with  war,  and  its  inseparably 
concomitant  miseries,  could  be  ludicrous,  the  farce  of 
religious  attachment  to  the  Papacy,  and  its  farrago  of 
Catholic  verities  and  usages,  played  by  the  emperor,  in 
the  year  1527,  would  be  ludicrous  indeed.  Injured  by 
his  sovereign,  the  king  of  France,  the  constable  Bour- 
bon had  deserted  his  cause  ;  and,  won  by  the  promises 
11 


242  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

of  Charles,  (who  always  promised  freely,  because  he 
appears  not  to  have  had  one  particle  even  of  what  men 
call  honour,  and  which  impels  to  an  honourable  per- 
formance of  promise,  in  his  whole  constitution,)  he  had 
resolved  to  win  for  himself  the  nominal  fitness  for  the 
sovereignty  which  seemed  to  be  within  his  grasp,  by 
some  daring  deed  which  should  exalt  his  name  to  an 
equality  with  the  high  station  to  which  he  aspired. 
To  some  bold  undertaking  he  wTas  likewise  impelled 
by  the  want  of  money  to  pay  his  troops,  who  had  be- 
come discontented  and  threatening.  In  the  spring  of 
1527  he  resolved,  therefore,  upon  marching  directly  to 
Rome,  which,  strong  in  the  opinion  of  its  own  sanctity, 
apprehended  no  warlike  invasion.  Early  in  May,  how- 
ever, Bourbon,  the  Catholic,  the  representative  of  the 
Catholic  king  of  Spain  and  emperor  of  Germany,  ap- 
peared, in  hostile  demonstration,  before  the  walls  of 
pontifical  Rome.  Giving  his  troops  no  leisure  for 
reflection,  he  soon  led  them  to  the  attack.  He  himself 
was  slain  in  mounting  one  of  the  scaling-ladders  ;  but 
the  assault  was  successful.  Rome  was  taken,  and 
sacked ;  and  while  the  city  was  delivered  to  the  un- 
bridled passions  of  a  ferocious  soldiery,  the  pope,  taking 
refuge  in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  was  besieged  there 
by  the  forces  of  his  well-beloved  son,  the  king  of 
Spain,  the  emperor  of  Germany,  the  successor  to  the 
imperial  crown  of  the  Cesars. 

This  siege  of  Rome  by  the  imperial  forces,  and  the 
surrender,  a  few  weeks  after,  of  the  pope,  who  had 
sought  refuge  from  personal  captivity  in  the  supposed 
impregnable  fortress  of  the  city,  placed,  for  a  time,  the 
destinies  of  Catholic  Europe  in  the  hands  of  Charles 
V.     The  general  horror  which  attached  to  this  sacn- 


LII'E   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  243 

lege,  while  it  caused  the  emperor  to  dissemble  his  satis- 
faction at  the  event,  and  barred  him  from  appropriating 
all  the  political  advantages  on  which  he  had  counted, 
had  the  effect  of  establishing  between  him  and  the 
pontificate  a  mutual  and  permanent  mistrust,  which  was 
not  unpropkious  to  the  reformers  of  the  German  em- 
pire. It  was  not,  however,  to  be  expected  that  the 
temporal  princes  who  continued  to  acknowledge  the 
authority  of  the  triple  crown  would  submit  to  a  pro- 
tracted restraint  upon  their  ghostly  sovereign  and 
primate.  After  extorting  from  him  a  reluctant  agree- 
ment to  such  conditions  of  prospective  support  as  he 
could  safely  venture  to  impose,  Charles  therefore  sought 
to  conclude  a  peace  with  his  consecrated  prisoner.  By 
way  of  smoothing  the  road  to  that  consummation,  and 
at  the  same  time  expiating  his  recent  outrage  on  the 
church,  in  the  person  of  its  supreme  lord  and  repre- 
sentative, he  resolved  to  exert  his  whole  domestic 
power  to  put  down  the  innovating  sect  which  had 
arisen  in  the  imperial  precincts.  Accordingly,  he 
again  gave  directions  to  the  archduke  of  Austria  for 
the  holding  of  another  diet,  for  the  specific  purpose  of 
deliberating  on  the  religious  affairs  of  the  country. 
An  antecedent  and  most  injudicious  movement  on  the 
part  of  the  impetuous  landgrave  of  Hesse,  and  his 
contracted  ally,  the  prince  John  of  Saxony,  had  un- 
fortunately served  to  excite  among  a  majority  of  the 
electoral  senators  a  feeling  prejudicial  to  the  cause 
which  these  two  rulers  had  espoused.  Yielding  too 
ready  credence  to  a  report  which  had  gone  abroad  of 
preparations  being  in  progress  on  the  part  of  some  of 
the  Papal  confederates  for  an  armed  effort  to  suppress 
the  advancing  Reformation,  Philip  had  called  upon  the 


244  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

elector,  in  pursuance  of  their  joint  compact,  to  raise  an 
army  for  the  resistance  of  any  such  attempt.  The 
rumour,  however,  proving  to  have  been  without  founda- 
tion, the  mere  fact  of  the  Evangelical  princes  having 
causelessly  assumed  a  warlike  attitude,  could  hardly 
fail  to  tell  against  the  Lutheran  interest  in  the  diet. 
Nor  was  this  the  only  circumstance  tending  to  excite 
keener  and  fresh  hostility  to  the  reforming  party.  The 
emperor's  late  invasion  of  the  individual  liberty  of  the 
pontiff,  an  act  unprecedented  for  canonical  impiety, 
was  deemed  to  have  reflected  on  the  loyalty  of  the 
Germanic  Church  a  scandal  which  could  only  be  re- 
moved by  some  equivalent  and  signal  manifestation  of 
subservience  to  the  wishes  of  the  popedom.  Influenced 
by  these  considerations,  the  diet,  under  the  vice-impe- 
rial direction  of  the  archduke  Ferdinand,  rescinded  the 
provisional  decree  which  had  passed  during  its  last 
session,  and,  in  spite  of  all  that  could  be  urged  against 
so  flagrant  a  contempt  of  justice,  enacted  that  the  pro- 
scriptive  edict  of  1521  should  be  rigidly  enforced 
through  all  those  districts  which  had  been  visited  by 
the  contagious  spirit  of  ecclesiastical  innovation. 

Against  this  determination  the  sovereign  princes, 
John  of  Saxony,  Ernest  and  Francis,  dukes  of  Bruns- 
wick-Lunenberg,  Wolfgang,  of  Anhalt,  George,  mar- 
grave of  Brandenberg,  and  Philip,  landgrave  of  Hesse- 
Homberg,  subscribed  and  published  a  formal  protest, 
which  will  be  ever  memorable  in  the  history  of  the 
Christian  world,  as  having  bestowed  upon  the  advo- 
cates of  divine  truth  the  distinctive  title  of  Protest- 
ants ;  an  appellation  which,  invested  as  it  is  with 
sacred  and  endearing  memories,  with  a  thousand  asso- 
ciations of  moral   bravery  and   unconquerable  truth. 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  245 

illustrated  by  acts  of  matchless  heroism,  and  baptized 
with  the  blood  of  saints,  derives  its  noblest  and  immortal 
dignity  from  the  mighty  revolution  it  commemorates, — 

the  LIBERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  MIND  FROM  THE  DO- 
MINION OF  ERROR,  AND  ITS  CONSECRATION  TO  THE 
ACKNOWLEDGED    SUPREMACY    OF   DIVINE    TRUTH. 

This  protest,  which  appeared  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1529,  was  succeeded,  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month, 
by  a  temperate  but  firm  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the 
diet  to  the  emperor,  in  his  double  capacity  of  grand 
regulator  of  the  secular  concerns  of  the  electoral  fiefs, 
and  president  of  the  provincial  councils  of  the  church. 
It  was  not  long  before  several  of  the  free  towns  of 
Germany,  including  the  great  cities  of  Strasburg,  Ulm, 
and  Nuremberg,  declared  their  adhesion  to  the  princi- 
ples avowed  by  the  dissentient  princes.  Delegates 
were  then  chosen  from  the  more  prominent  ranks  of 
the  reformers,  to  carry  this  appeal,  along  with  the  pro- 
testation upon  which  it  built,  to  the  presence  of  Charles 
himself.  But  before  the  two  kindred  documents  reached 
him,  the  autocrat  of  Spain  and  Germany  had  made  out 
his  reconciliation  with  the  pope,  and  bound  himself  to 
recover  to  the  Roman  see  the  estranged  allegiance  of 
his  subjects,  even  if,  by  the  failure  of  the  ghostly  wea- 
pons of  the  Papacy,  he  should  be  obliged  to  have  re- 
course to  the  strong  arm.  When  the  deputies  presented 
themselves  before  him  at  Placenza,  he  received  them 
in  a  manner  singularly  ungracious  ;  and  with  an  air  of 
offended  haughtiness  announced  to  them  his  entire 
approbation  of  the  dietary  act,  and  resolute  intention 
to  coerce  the  Protestants,  should  they  still  persist  in 
their  recusancy.  The  appeal  to  his  own  crown  he 
affected  to  resent  as  a  deliberate  contempt  of  the  juris 


246  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

diction  of  the  diet,  and  even  ordered  the  bearers  of  that 
instrument  into  confinement.  But  these  truculent 
demonstrations  were  probably  designed  rather  to  lull 
suspicion  in  the  pontiff,  as  to  the  sincerity  of  his  pro- 
fessed devotion  to  the  service  of  the  church,  than  to 
premonish  a  resort  to  those  extreme  severities  which 
he  menaced.  After  a  detention  of  seventeen  days,  the 
Lutheran  representatives,  who  had,  meantime,  reite- 
rated their  appeal  to  a  free  council,  were  again  set  at 
large. 

The  necessity  of  forming  a  new  combination,  on  a 
more  extended  basis,  was  now  more  than  ever  pressed 
upon  the  reforming  powers  by  the  prompt  and  fiery 
prince  of  Hesse.  Against  that  project,  however,  Lu- 
ther and  his  brethren  still  persisted  to  remonstrate  ; 
alleging  as  one  principal  reason  of  their  continued  dis- 
approval of  the  scheme,  the  disunion  which  obtained 
among  the  several  members  of  the  proposed  confede- 
racy, in  regard  to  the  substantive  incorporation  of 
Christ  with  the  sacramental  elements.  To  obviate  this 
preliminary  objection,  the  impatient  landgrave  set  him- 
self to  bring  about  a  conference  between  the  Saxon 
and  the  Swiss  theologians,  in  the  hope  that  they  might, 
by  mutual  concession,  fix  upon  some  common  form  of 
stating  the  disputed  doctrine.  The  debate  which  en- 
sued at  Marpurg  (October,  1529)  ended,  after  a  keen 
encounter  of  wits,  and  much  laborious  expenditure  of 
scholastic  learning,  in  each  party  retaining  its  own 
previous  convictions.  The  main  conduct  of  the  strife 
lay  with  Zuinglius,  Bucer,  and  QEcolampadius,  on  one 
side,  and  on  the  other,  Lutber,  Eberhard,  and  Melanc- 
thon.  At  the  outset  of  the  discussion  (Ecolampadius 
dwelt  with  marked  emphasis  and  skill  upon  the  unity 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  247 

of  our  Lord's  body,  which,  he  argued,  having  been 
carried  to  heaven  after  the  resurrection,  could  not  re- 
turn to  the  earth,  far  less  could  it  be  present  at  the 
same  instant  in  more  places  than  one.  To  this  rea- 
soning Luther  opposed  the  literal  expression  of  the 
Saviour,  "  This  is  my  body,"  and  the  equally  distinct 
assertion  of  St.  Paul,  "  I  have  received  of  the  Lord ;" 
passages  which  he  averred  to  be  neither  ambiguous 
nor  metaphorical.  Bucer  retorted  that  the  answer  was 
a  mere  petitio  principii ;  and  then  arose  a  long  interlo- 
cutory pleading  on  the  terms  of  the  dispute,  and  the 
exact  shape  of  the  issue  to  be  raised.  It  strikes  us 
as  a  thing  to  be  noted,  that  throughout  the  contro- 
versy none  of  the  Swiss  party  should  have  pointedly 
alluded  to  the  very  obvious  fact,  (a  fact  which  at  once 
defeats  Luther's  proposition,  and  is  indeed  decisive  of 
the  question,)  that  at  the  very  moment  when  the  words 
instituting  the  eucharist  were  uttered,  Christ  was  still 
visibly  present  in  his  corporeal  humanity  before  the 
assembled  disciples.  Those  words,  so  confidently  re- 
lied upon  by  the  German  divine,  were  actually  spoken 
by  the  bodily  organs  of  the  Redeemer,  so  that  in  their 
literal  import  they  could  not  possibly  be  true.  It  was 
not  the  bread,  nor  the  cup,  which  spoke.  The  frag- 
ment of  food  held  in  the  hand  could  neither  be  the 
body  of  which  that  hand  so  holding  was  a  member, 
nor  in  any  way  suffused,  imbued,  or  consubstantiated 
with  that  body.  Nor  could  the  wine  then  shining  in 
the  chalice  be  the  blood  which  was  at  the  same  time 
flowing  through  the  arterial  channels,  and  pervading 
the  physical  structure,  of  the  speaker.  The  affirma- 
tion and  the  command  were  enunciated  by  a  human 
being,  clothed  with  material  flesh ;  and  unless  the  con- 


248  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

stituent  molecules  of  that  flesh  are  taken  to  have  been 
exempted  from  the  law  which,  inhering  in  all  matter, 
precludes  the  multiple  existence  of  the  same  identical 
atoms,  it  is  necessarily  impossible  to  attach  any  other 
than  a  figurative  meaning  to  the  language  used  by  our 
Lord,  in  ordaining  the  paschal  sacrament.  Let  it  be 
observed,  too,  that  the  absolute  materiality  of  the  cor- 
poral substance  of  the  man,  Christ  Jesus,  is  of  essen- 
tial and  profound  importance  to  be  held  in  view  ;  for 
without  it,  the  veritable  human  being  of  the  divine 
Mediator  disappears  ;  and  with  the  genuine  humanity, 
perishes  the  fitness  and  the  adequacy  of  his  sacrifice. 
Some  persons,  who  assuredly  give  no  credence  to  the 
real  presence,  are,  nevertheless,  not  inapt  to  lapse  into 
an  error  nearly  akin  to  it.  There  are  men  around  us, 
men  deficient  neither  in  intelligence  nor  piety,  who 
conceive  of  the  very  body,  the  organic  system  and  ex- 
terior tegument  of  the  manhood  of  the  Messiah,  as 
endowed  with  some  inherent  principle  of  immunity 
from  the  immutable  conditions  of  all  natural  existence. 
But  the  supposition  is  pregnant  with  consequential 
danger  to  one  of  the  most  vital  truths  of  Christianity. 
He  who  imagines  for  the  physical  shrine,  in  which  the 
incarnate  God  lived  on  earth,  and  which  died  upon  the 
cross,  a  native  and  peculiar  property,  excepting  it  from 
the  ligations  and  the  liabilities  of  our  own  flesh  and 
blood,  stumbles  upon  a  fancy  which,  if  it  were  true, 
would  rob  the  common  nature  of  man  of  the  consecra- 
tion and  the  glory  it  receives  from  having  been  worn 
by  the  resurgent,  as  by  the  suffering,  Deity;  would 
deprive  the  faithful  of  their  consolation,  and  defraud 
the  universe  of  its  hope. 

While  these   grave   subjects  were  in  deliberation 


LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  249 

among  an  ever-increasing  body  of  his  people,  the  empe- 
ror Charles  V.  was  honoured  by  the  pope  with  a  solemn 
inauguration  to  the  throne  of  the  Cesars  ;  a  formality 
which  the  pressure  of  the  times  had  postponed  to  an 
unusual  distance  from  the  period  of  his  election.  The 
ceremony  was  performed  at  Bologna,  where  the  em- 
peror remained,  in  constant  and  familiar  intercourse 
with  his  holiness,  for  the  space  of  a  month  after  his 
installation.  During  that  term  of  renewed  confidence 
and  friendship,  Charles  took  occasion  to  urge  upon  the 
Catholic  primate  the  propriety  of  summoning  an  eccle- 
siastical council ;  as  both  Clement  and  his  near  prede- 
cessors in  the  apostolic  seat  had  repeatedly  promised. 
It  was  no  part,  however,  of  the  immediate  policy  of 
the  pontiff  to  make  so  critical  a  concession  to  the  de- 
mand, which  was  fast  becoming  general,  for  a  reform 
within  the  church.  With  his  accustomed  dexterity  in 
evading  disagreeable  requirements,  an  art  in  which  few 
of  the  crowned  archpriests  of  Rome  have  excelled 
Clement  VII.,  he  contrived  to  divert  his  imperial  con- 
queror from  that  suit ;  pointing  his  attention  to  the 
eastern  frontiers  of  the  empire,  threatened  as  they  still 
were  with  a  new  irruption  of  the  Turks,  under  their 
victorious  sultan,  Solyman ;  and  to  the  internal  dis- 
affections  which,  fomented  by  the  virulent  enthusiasm 
of  a  remnant  of  the  Anabaptist  demagogues,  gave  inti- 
mation of  the  too  probable  renewal  of  those  disastrous 
revolts  which  had  before  desolated  various  districts  of 
Germany. 

Nor  was  it  without  abundant  show  of  reason  that  the 

emperor's  thoughts  were  thus  directed  to  the  perilous 

and  instant  embarrassments  which  menaced  his  reign. 

Notwithstanding  the   recent  and  far-celebrated  relief 

11* 


250  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

of  Vienna,  and  the  immediate  abandonment,  by  the 
Turkish  armies,  of  the  Austrian  territory ;  Solyman, 
by  his  creature,  John  Zapolya,  whom  he  had  himself 
crowned  at  Buda,  still  held  possession  of  nearly  the 
whole  kingdom  of  Hungary.  Ferdinand,  in  terror  for 
his  own  archducal  diadem,  began  to  wax  urgent  in  his 
advocacy  of  toleration  for  the  Lutherans,  in  the  expecta- 
tion, doubtless,  of  thus  winning  aid  from  some  of  the 
Evangelical  magnates.  Disturbances  were  rife  in  nu- 
merous parts  of  Flanders ;  while  in  more  than  one  of 
the  other  great  countries  of  the  empire  fresh  troubles 
were  to  be  hourly  apprehended.  Discord  and  mutin- 
ous dissatisfaction  had  become  imminent  in  the  impe- 
rial fiefs  ;  and,  in  short,  a  general  dislocation  of  the 
national  union  seemed  to  be  impending.  At  this  junc- 
ture, Charles  returned  from  his  long  tour  of  conquest 
and  ambition,  to  find  the  very  heart  and  flower  of  the 
Germanic  estates  torn  with  intestine  feuds,  and  seem- 
ing about  to  go  to  pieces,  even  while  the  lingering 
propinquity  of  a  common  and  barbarous  enemy  pleaded 
for  unanimity  and  energetic  concert. 

To  devise  prompt  and  efficacious  remedies  for  a 
political  condition  so  complex  and  inauspicious  was 
no  easy  task.  Fettered  by  his  engagement  with  the 
pope,  while  the  twofold  dread  of  a  civil  war  among 
the  electoral  estates,  and  of  invasion  from  without, 
rendered  the  extreme  alternative  of  that  imprudent  en- 
gagement difficult  to  be  fulfilled ;  the  emperor,  on  re- 
suming in  his  own  person  the  federal  administration, 
had  recourse  once  more  to  the  deliberations  of  the 
diet.  The  venerable  city  of  Augsburg  was  nominated 
for  the  scene  of  those  consultations  which  were  to  be 
decisive  both  of  the  fate  of  the  Reformation,  and  the 


LIFE  OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  251 

future  integrity  of  the  combined  principalities.  Thither 
the  grave  urgency  of  the  topics  to  be  considered,  and 
the  attraction  of  the  imperial  presence,  drew  a  much 
larger  number  of  the  senatorial  lords  than  had  attended 
any  meeting  of  their  body  since  the  important  session 
of  Worms. 

And  well  might  the  reformers  themselves  feel,  even 
painfully,  their  dangerous  position.  Since  the  pillage 
of  Rome  by  the  imperial  forces,  and  the  captivity  of 
the  head  of  the  church,  Charles  had  become  anxious 
to  show  himself  not  the  less  Catholic  for  having  im- 
prisoned the  centre  of  Catholic  unity.  So  far  as  his 
own  ambitious  plans  were  concerned,  he  did  not  fail  to 
extract  (so  far  as  treaties  could  be  said  to  extract)  as 
much  gain  as  possible  from  his  advantageous  circum- 
stances ;  but  he  was  at  the  same  time  willing  to  prove 
to  the  pope,  at  the  expense  of  others,  how  decidedly 
and  zealously  religious  he  was.  He  insisted,  in  his 
conversations  with  the  pope,  on  a  council,  hoping,  no 
doubt,  to  regain  some  of  the  earlier  imperial  preroga- 
tives over  the  Papacy ;  but  he  was  willing  that  this 
council  should  be  called,  not*  so  much  for  any  serious 
reformation  in  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  church, 
as  for  the  extirpation  of  the  Lutheran  heresy.  And 
as  to  the  mode  of  extirpation,  examples  had  been 
afforded  which  evinced  that  the  Papal  party  had  not 
forgotten  the  way  to  deal  with  heretics,  or  changed 
their  principles  since  the  days  of  John  Huss  and  Je- 
rome of  Prague.  In  the  Netherlands,  where  Charles 
was  not  so  encumbered  in  his  proceedings,  the  fires 
of  persecution  had  been  already  kindled  for  the  Luthe- 
rans. And  in  Bavaria,  in  1527,  a  priest,  named  Leon- 
ard Cesar,  had  been  burnt  alive  "  for  the  Evangelical 


252  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

doctrine,"  although  powerful  intercessions  were  made 
on  his  behalf.  Luther  was  greatly  distressed  by  this 
event,  although  he  solemnly  rejoiced  before  God  for  the 
unshaken  constancy  and  holy  triumph  with  which  the 
martyr  had  closed  his  life.  Leonard  had  taken  the 
ground  occupied  by  the  reformers  ;  and  when  pressed 
to  recant,  that  he  might  save  his  life,  he  refused,  unless 
they  would  show  that  what  he  believed  was  contrary 
to  the  Scriptures.  At  the  stake,  he  besought  the  peo- 
ple to  pray  for  themselves,  and  for  him,  that  with  an 
unyielding  faith  he  might  die.  The  lire  being  kindled, 
with  a  Qlear  voice,  he  exclaimed,  "  Lord  Jesus,  I  am 
thine  ;  save  me  ;"  and  soon  after  expired. 

But  while  Luther  felt  for  the  man,  he  had  no  fears 
for  the  cause.  Indeed,  in  the  whole  character  of  the 
reformer  nothing  is  more  observable  than  the  com- 
pleteness of  the  persuasion  which  possessed  his  mind, 
that  the  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged  was  the  cause 
of  truth,  and  therefore  the  cause  of  Christ.  That  Christ 
would  maintain  his  own  cause,  in  whatever  mysteries 
his  proceedings  might  be  enveloped,  he  never  appears 
to  have  for  a  moment  doubted.  All  he  desired  was  to 
be  himself  more  devoted  to  the  cause  which  he  knew 
to  be  right,  and  to  be  enabled  to  defend  and  maintain 
it  by  methods  suited  to  his  own  nature.  Much  of  Lu- 
ther's character  appears  in  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to 
a  friend  after  the  martyrdom  of  Leonard. 

"  O  miserable  Luther,  so  unlike  Leonard  !  I,  a  ver- 
bose preacher  of  the  word  ;  he,  a  mighty  doer  of  it. 
O  that  I  were  prepared,  I  will  not  say,  with  double, 
but  even  half  his  spirit,  to  conquer  Satan,  and  surren- 
der my  life !  Blessed  be  God,  who,  among  so  many 
ministers,  at  least  one  glorious  spectacle  of  his  grace 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  253 

nas  shown  to  us,  unworthy  as  we  are.  Pray  for  me, 
my  brother  Michael,  that  Christ  may  enable  me  to  imi- 
tate our  Leonard.  Not  only  king,  but  Cesar,  he  was 
deservedly  called ;  because  he  conquered  him  to  whose 
power  there  is  no  equal  here  on  earth.  He  was  not 
only  priest,  but  high  priest,  yea,  and  true  pope,  in  that 
his  own  body  he  presented  as  a  living  and  holy  sacri- 
fice, acceptable  to  God.  And  very  rightly  was  he 
called  Leonhard,  that  is,  strength  of  a  lion;  for  so  was 
he,  bold  and  undaunted." 

When  Luther,  at  various  times,  expressed  his  strong 
conviction  of  the  necessity  of  Christian  courage  and 
resolution,  he  did  so  from  the  perfect  knowledge  that 
he  had  of  the  spirit  of  Papacy,  and  its  favourite  me- 
thods of  settling  controversies.  He  well  knew  that 
hitherto  nothing  but  the  repeated  concurrences  of  cir- 
cumstances so  remarkable  as  to  exhibit  the  wonder- 
working providence  of  God  had  prevented  the  em- 
ployment of  the  usual  means  of  conviction  and  conver- 
sion employed  by  Rome.  He  well  knew  that  the 
more  sincere  was  the  religion  of  his  opponents,  the 
more  likely  were  they  to  have  recourse  to  the  most 
energetic  measures.  Assuming  the  absolute  truth  of 
their  own  system  and  the  soul-destroying  influence  of 
heresy,  seeming  cruelty  would  in  their  sight  be  real 
mercy.  The  removal  of  the  infected,  refusing  to  sub- 
mit to  the  sanatory  process  which  might  be  prescribed, 
would  be  mercy  to  the  rest.  And  as  to  employ  these 
measures  was  considered  as  the  duty  of  the  church, 
so  to  lend  the  aid  of  secular  force  was  alike  considered 
the  duty  of  the  state.  Subsequently,  the  Council  of 
Trent  made  it  the  duty  of  rulers  to  employ  their  utmost 
power  to  cause  "  the  true  faith."  to  be  received  by 


254  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

their  subjects  ;  and  the  confiscations,  banishments, 
and  martyrdoms  that  followed,  evinced  the  sense  in 
which  the  profession  of  the  faith  according  to  the 
Tridentine  Creed  was  understood. 

And  at  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  did  the  Papal  legate 
seek  earnestly  to  induce  the  emperor  to  lose  no  time 
in  checking  the  progress  of  Lutheranism,  by  employ- 
ing at  once,  and  with  decision,  the  power  which  he 
possessed.  Charles  had  promised  the  pope  that  he 
would  lend  all  his  might  for  the  reduction  of  the  Pro- 
testants, and  he  seemed  to  be  earnestly  bent  on  doing 
as  he  had  said.  As  he  journeyed  through  Italy  into 
Germany,  to  preside  at  the  approaching  diet,  he  was  ac- 
companied by  several  members  of  the  Roman  court,  and 
by  them  his  resolution  was  sought  to  be  sustained  and 
confirmed.  Whatever  the  suspicions  of  Luther  might 
have  been,  so  far  as  they  related  to  the  wishes  and 
counsel  of  the  Papal  party,  they  could  not  exceed  the 
fact  as  it  then  existed,  and  has  since  transpired.  Pro- 
fessor Ranke  distinctly  states  that  "  the  legate  who 
had  been  sent  to  accompany  the  emperor,  Cardinal 
Campeggio,  had  conceived  bold  projects,  perilous  in 
the  highest  degree  to  Germany."*  The  professor  de- 
scribes what  these  projects  were,  first  mentioning  the 
source  from  which  he  has  derived  his  information : 
"  A  memorial  presented  by  him  to  the  emperor,  at  the 
time  of  the  Diet  of  Augsburg,  and  containing  an  expo- 
sition of  these  projects,  is  still  extant.  With  regret 
and  repugnance,  but  as  a  tribute  to  truth,  I  must  say  a 
few  words  on  it."     His  few  words  are  these : — 

"  Cardinal  Campeggio  did  not  content  himself  with 
lamenting  religious  errors ;  he  commented  more  par- 
*  History  of  the  Popes,  &c,  vol.  i,  p.  3. 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  255 

ticularly  on  their  political  consequences.  He  repre- 
sented, that  not  only  in  the  imperial  cities  was  the 
authority  and  dignity  of  the  nobility  lowered  by  the 
Reformation ;  not  only  could  no  prince,  ecclesiastical 
or  even  secular,  any  longer  obtain  due  obedience  ;  but 
the  majesty  of  the  emperor  himself  was  disregarded. 
The  question  was,  how  was  the  evil  to  be  met  ? 

"  The  secret  of  the  means  he  proposed  was  not  very 
profound.  Nothing  was  requisite,  he  thought,  but  that 
the  emperor  should  conclude  a  treaty  with  the  well- 
disposed  princes ;  they  should  then  proceed  to  work 
upon  the  recusants  by  promises  or  by  threats.  If  they 
remained  stubborn,  what  was  to  be  done  ?  The  em- 
peror had  a  right  '  to  extirpate  this  poisonous  plant  with 
fire  and  sword.''  The  main  thing  would  be  to  confis- 
cate their  property,  secular  and  ecclesiastical,  in  Ger- 
many, as  well  as  in  Hungary  and  Bohemia  ;  for  against 
heretics  this  is  lawful  and  right.  If  the  mastery  over 
them  were  once  obtained,  holy  inquisitors  were  to  he 
appointed  to  track  out  every  remnant  of  them,  and 
proceed  against  them  by  the  same  means  as  were  used 
against  the  Moors  in  Spain.  Besides  this,  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wittenberg  was  to  be  excommunicated  ;  all 
those  who  studied  there  were  to  be  declared  unworthy 
the  favour  of  pope  or  emperor  ;  the  books  of  heretics  to 
be  burnt ;  the  monks  who  had  quitted  their  convents  to 
be  sent  back  to  them  ;  and  not  a  single  schismatic  to 
be  tolerated  at  any  court.  But  first  a  sweeping  con- 
fiscation was  necessary.  '  Even  if  your  majesty,' 
says  the  legate,  '  confines  yourself  to  the  leaders  of 
the  party,  you  may  extract  from  them  a  large  sum  of 
money,  which  is  indispensable  to  carry  on  the  war 
against  the  Turks.' 


256  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

"  Such,"  continues  Professor  Ranke,  "  is  the  tone 
of  this  project ;  such  are  its  principles.  How  does 
every  word  breathe  of  oppression,  carnage,  and  plun- 
der !  We  cannot  wonder  that  Germany  expected  the 
worst  from  an  emperor  arriving  under  such  guidance, 
or  that  the  Protestants  took  counsel  among  themselves 
as  to  the  degree  of  resistance  they  might  lawfully 
use."* 

It  was  well  that  the  emperor  stood  in  fear  of  the 
Turks,  to  meet  whom  he  required  the  united  strength 
of  the  empire.  Besides,  both  himself  and  his  brother 
Ferdinand  were  deeply  interested  in  the  preservation 
of  their  Austrian  dominions,  which  were  chiefly  threat- 
ened by  these  their  formidable  foes.  In  1529,  Soly- 
man  II.  had  marched  as  far  as  Yienna,  to  which  city 
he  had  laid  siege  ;  and  though  he  was  obliged  to  raise 
it  at  the  end  of  about  five  weeks,  yet  as  he  had  access 
to  the  very  centre  of  the  Austrian  territories  by  the 
whole  line  of  the  Danube,  this  was  enough  to  show 
Charles  the  danger  of  exasperating  the  Protestant 
princes  of  Germany  on  the  one  side,  when  he  had 
such  an  active  and  potent  foe  on  the  other.  It  was 
thus  that  the  persecuting  tendencies  of  the  two  brothers, 
though  stimulated  By  ecclesiastical  superstition  and 
bigotry,  were  laid  under  efficient  restraint,  and  time 

*  History  of  the  Popes,  &c,  vol.  i,  p.  113.  This  is  Professor 
Ranke's  foot-note  : — "  They  ventured  to  call  such  a  mere  sketch, 
an  instruction  :  •  Instructio  data  Csesari  a  reverend1*").  Campeg- 
gio  in  Dieta  Augustana,  1530.'  I  found  it  in  a  Roman  library,  in 
the  hand-writing  of  the  time,  and  beyond  all  doubt  authentic." 
In  his  appendix  (vol.  iii,  p.  52)  he  calls  it,  "  that  blood-thirsty 
scheme  for  the  destruction  of  the  Protestants  ;"  and  gives  some 
extracts  from  it,  in  the  original  Italian,  justifying  his  severe 
censure. 


* 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  257 

afforded  for  the  "  good  seed"  to  strike  its  roots  deeply, 
and  to  grow  beyond  the  power  of  extirpation. 

Luther,  in  the  mean  time,  though  anything  but  igno- 
rant of  his  danger,  was  neither  alarmed  nor  anxious. 
He  had  not  merely  studied  the  word  of  God  with  an 
honest  mind,  so  as  to  arrive  at  a  settled  conviction  of 
the  truth  of  the  doctrines  which  he  had  embraced,  but 
"  he  knew,"  likewise,  "  in  whom  he  had  believed." 
The  belief  of  the  existence  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  the 
earth  was  with  him  a  settled  principle ;  an  element 
of  his  intellectual  being.  His  view  of  the  almighty 
Saviour  and  Sovereign,  as  having  "  prepared  his 
throne  in  the  heavens,"  so  that  "  his  kingdom  ruleth 
over  all,"  was  so  clear  and  distinct,  that  he  was  like 
the  young  man  whose  eyes  "  the  Lord  opened,"  so 
that  "  he  saw,  and  behold  the  mountain  was  full  of 
horses  and  chariots  of  fire  round  about  Elisha."  And, 
as  his  faith  was  strong  and  settled,  so  was  it  strength- 
ened by  that  spirit  of  earnest  prayer  which  he  con- 
tinually cherished.  Luther  cannot  be  understood  if 
viewed  only  as  a  reformer  who  wished  to  revive  neg- 
lected or  forgotten  truth,  and  to  bring  men  back  to  the 
simplicity  and  spirituality  of  primitive  Christian  wor- 
ship :  his  faith,  if  the  distinction  may  be  made,  rested 
not  in  the  truths  of  religion,  considered  as  doctrines 
to  be  apprehended  by  the  intellect,  though  all  his 
writings,  and  his  care  to  instruct  others  both  by  cate- 
chising and  preaching,  show  that  he  did  not  neglect 
thus  to  view  them  ;  there  was  nothing  blind  or  enthu- 
siastic in  his  faith  ;  but,  passing  through  the  truths 
taught,  he  rested  not  till  he  arrived  at  the  objects 
which  they  revealed,  and  there  he  found  repose.  He 
trusted  m  God ;  his  mind  was  stayed  upon  God  ;  and 


258  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

hence  came  the  peace  which  he  enjoyed.  His  natural 
temper  was  anything  rather  than  careless.  Full  of 
ardour  and  activity,  it  predisposed  him  both  for  self- 
confidence  in  prosperity,  and  anxiety  in  darkness  and 
danger.  But  all  this  was  counteracted  by  the  views 
which  he  took  of  the  presence  and  dominion  of  God. 
God,  he  knew,  would  maintain  his  own  cause.  While, 
therefore,  without  intermission,  he  employed  all  the 
means  which  he  had  reason  to  believe  the  nature  and 
urgency  of  the  cause  demanded,  the  whole  burden  of 
his  care  he  cast  upon  God  ;  always,  and  especially  in 
every  exigency,  making  his  requests  known  unto  God 
by  prayer  and  supplication. 

Under  these  circumstances,  in  March,  1530,  the 
Diet  of  Augsburg  was  opened.  Not  ignorant  of  the 
wishes  of  their  opponents,  and  of  the  agreement  which 
the  emperor  had  formed  with  the  pope,  the  Protestant 
princes  began  to  consult  seriously  on  the  measures  by 
which  the  independence  of  their  several  administra- 
tions might  best  be  secured.  Luther,  of  course,  was 
consulted ;  but  his  Christian  principles  would  not 
allow  him  to  entertain  the  question  of  resistance  to  the 
head  of  the  empire,  till  the  necessity  for  doing  so  be- 
came invincible.  Even  Maimbourg  acknowledges 
this,  though  plainly  with  the  view  of  censuring  more 
strongly  the  Smalcaldic  League,  which  subsequently 
the  Protestants  were  compelled  to  form.  "  Luther," 
he  says,  "  conducted  himself  on  this  occasion  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  a  good  man.  He  wrote  to  the 
princes  to  divert  them  from  their  purpose,  telling  them 
that  the  cause  of  religion  was  to  be  defended,  not  by 
the  force  of  arms,  but  by  sound  arguments,  by  Christian 
patience,  and  by  firm  faith  in  the  omnipotent  God." 


LTFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  259 

"At  the  same  time,"  proceeds  trie  Jesuit,  "he  pub- 
lished a  short  tract,  full  of  quotations  from  sacred 
Scripture,  by  which  the  soul  might  be  comforted  and 
supported  under  the  afflictions  and  dangers  of  the  pre- 
sent life.  He  likewise  reduced  to  German  metre  the 
forty-sixth  Psalm,  ■  God  is  our  refuge  and  strength,' 
and  had  it  set  to  music,  that,  during  the  continuance 
of  the  diet,  it  might  be  sung  in  all  the  Lutheran 
churches." 

It  was  thus  that  this  true  reformer  sought  to  prepare 
for  coming  events.  The  princes  who  had  embraced 
the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  were  sovereign  in 
their  respective  states,  but  yet  so  as  to  be  subordinate 
to  the  whole  empire,  and  its  actual  governor.  As  yet, 
therefore,  Luther  believed  that  as  their  sovereignty  was 
not  directly  invaded,  they  had  no  right  to  set  themselves 
in  opposition  to  their  acknowledged  chief.  He  saw 
the  gathering  storm,  but  for  this  he  well  knew  how  to 
provide.  There  is  something  noble  and  animating  in 
the  idea  of  the  multitudes  who  had  received  the  clearer 
expositions  of  divine  truth,  many  of  whom  experienced 
the  blessings  which  were  set  before  them,  joining, 
whenever  they  met  together  for  the  worship  of  God,  in 
this  acknowledgment  of  their  dependance  on  him,  this 
renewed  expression  of  their  devoted  trust.  When  from 
these  congregations  the  voice  of  thanksgiving  and  con- 
fidence arose,  "  God  is  our  refuge  and  strength,  a  very 
present  help  in  trouble  ;  therefore  will  we  not  fear 
though  the  earth  be  removed," — the  cry  would  come 
up  to  the  Lord  in  his  holy  temple,  and  his  eye  would 
be  fixed  on  the  cause  thus  humbly  and  earnestly  com- 
mended to  his  notice. 

In  the  deliberations  of  the  diet,  the  schism  then 


260  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

dividing  the  churches  of  Germany  was  allowed  to  have 
precedence  of  all  other  matters.  The  elector  John, 
warned  by  a  previous  message  from  the  emperor  of 
the  displeasure  which  his  adherence  to  the  Protestant 
secession  and  armed  league  with  the  landgrave  of 
Hesse  had  provoked,  took  the  precaution  to  prevent 
Luther  from  being  present  at  the  dietary  sitting,  appre- 
hensive that  the  boldness  of  his  tone  and  bearing  might 
only  serve  to  irritate  the  haughty  temper  of  the  German 
monarch.  At  the  same  period  he  provided  himself 
with  a  written  statement,  which  had  some  months  be- 
fore been  compiled  by  the  reformer,  with  the  assistance 
of  Pomeranus,  Justus  Jonas,  and  others,  comprising, 
under  seventeen  heads,  the  substance  of  the  Evan- 
gelical tenets,  in  relation  both  to  faith  and  discipline. 
This  statement,  usually  known  under  the  name  of  "  the 
Articles  of  Torgau,"  from  the  place  whence  it  was 
dated,  furnished  the  basis  of  that  enlarged  exposition 
which  Melancthon,  a  few  weeks  later,  prepared ;  and 
which,  having  been  strongly  approved  by  Luther,  was 
submitted  to  the  diet  as  a  "  confession"  of  the  reformed 
doctrine.  The  emperor's  communication  to  the  elector 
also  required  a  private  conference  to  be  had  between 
them,  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  federal  legislature  ; 
but  from  complying  with  this  mandate  the  Saxon  ruler 
excused  himself,  on  the  plea,  that  such  an  interview 
would  awake  jealousy  in  the  rest  of  the  great  vassals. 
Notice  was  then  conveyed  to  him,  that  the  Protestant 
ministers  would  not  be  suffered  to  perform  divine  ser- 
vice in  any  of  the  churches  of  Augsburg,  pending  the 
sittings  of  the  diet.  Against  the  last  prohibition,  the 
reformed  princes,  by  the  concurrent  advice  of  their 
divines,   united    in  petitioning  the   imperial   throne. 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER  261 

Charles,  however,  was  inexorable  ;  and  the  counsel  of 
Luther  prevailed  to  hold  the  Evangelical  preachers 
silent  during  the  continuance  of  the  session. 

On  the  25th  of  June,  1530,  the  Confession  of 
Augsburg  was  publicly  read  before  the  diet.  The 
original  subscribers  to  that  reverend  document  were 
the  cities  of  Reutlingen  and  Nuremberg,  together  with 
the  six  princes  who  had  signed  the  protest  of  the  pre- 
ceding year.  The  "  serene"  assembly  heard  it,  says 
Mosheim,  "  with  the  deepest  attention  and  recollection 
of  mind.  It  confirmed  some  in  the  principles  they  had 
embraced,  and  surprised  others  ;  while  many,  who  be- 
fore this  time  had  little  or  no  idea  of  the  religious  sen- 
timents of  Luther,  were  now  not  only  convinced  of 
their  innocence,  but  were,  moreover,  delighted  with 
their  simplicity  and  purity."  "  By  the  grace  of  God," 
exclaimed  Pontanus,  one  of  the  Lutheran  doctors,  as 
he  handed  the  Latin  translation  to  the  emperor's  secre- 
tary, "  this  confession  shall  prevail,  in  spite  of  the  gates 
of  hell.". 

A  similar  record  of  their  sentiments  having  been 
given  in  by  Bucer,  on  behalf  of  the  Swiss  Protestants, 
some  of  the  more  violent  abettors  of  the  Papal  faction 
recommended  the  immediate  and  forcible  interposition 
of  the  emperor,  to  stop  the  progress  of  opinions  so 
widely  at  variance  with  established  usage  and  belief. 
But  the  prevalent  feeling  of  the  diet  being  favourable 
to  the  adoption  of  a  more  lenient  course,  the  Romish 
theologians  were  instructed  to  draw  up  a  refutation  of 
the  articles  included  in  the  two  Evangelical  memorials, 
taking  special  care  to  avoid  the  use  of  all  offensive  ex- 
pressions. Beyond  this  limitation  the  forbearance  of 
the  emperor  could  not  be  brought  to  extend.     Faber, 


262  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

archbishop  of  Vienna,  having  of  his  own  accord  under- 
taken to  demolish  the  Swiss  confession,  the  business 
of  constructing  a  formal  examination  and  disproof  of 
the  Lutheran  declaration  devolved  on  Eck,  the  old  and 
fierce  vituperator  of  its  authors,  and  his  worthy  col- 
league the  notorious  Cochlaeus.  "  Doctor,"  inquired 
the  duke  of  Bavaria,  a  stanch  and  keen  Papist,  address- 
ing the  former,  "  can  you  confute  that  paper  out  of  the 
Bible  ?"  "  No,"  replied  the  unhesitating  churchman  ; 
"  to  rebut  those  statements  by  Scripture  is  impossible ; 
but  it  may  easily  be  done  from  the  fathers :"  a  speech 
which  aptly  imbodies  the  uniform  rule  and  secret  of 
the  pontifical  divinity. 

The  instrument  composed  upon  this  notable  admis- 
sion, and  which  assumed  to  be  a  confutation  of  the 
reformer's  manifesto,  is  justly  described  by  Melancthon, 
in  a  letter  to  his  friend  and  leader,  as  "  puerile "  and 
"  most  foolish."  Such,  however,  was  not  the  judgment 
of  the  emperor  concerning  it ;  for,  after  causing  the 
voluminous  replication  to  be  read  at  full  length  in  the 
diet,  he  expressed  his  entire  assent  to  the  principles  it 
set  forth,  and  signified  his  sovereign  pleasure  that  the 
princes  who  had  heretofore  sanctioned  the  Reformation, 
should  forthwith  conform  their  opinions  and  their  wor- 
ship to  the  general  practice  of  the  empire.  To  these 
announcements  was  added  a  monitory  hint,  that,  as 
defender  of  the  Germanic  Church,  he  would  no  longer 
tolerate  the  Lutheran  schism. 

So  favourable  an  impression  had,  however,  been 
produced  on  some  of  the  Roman  Catholic  members  of 
the  diet,  by  the  moderation  and  ostensible  rectitude  of 
the  opinions  developed  in  the  Evangelical  confessions, 
that  they  were  desirous  to  prevent  the  execution  of  the 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  263 

threat  implied  in  the  imperial  speech,  by  effecting  an 
accommodation  between  the  hostile  religionists.  The 
project  was  indeed  more  benevolent  than  wise  ;  but, 
with  characteristic  urbanity  and  kindliness  of  disposi- 
tion, Melancthon,  on  the  part  of  his  reforming  brethren, 
consented  to  make  a  last  and  hopeless  attempt  to  con- 
ciliate their  adversaries.  It  was  consequently  arranged 
that  a  certain  number  of  persons,  from  either  party, 
should  be  named  to  discuss  the  differences  which 
obtained  between  them.  After  conferring  for  several 
successive  days,  numerous  explanations  and  conces- 
sions being  made  upon  both  sides,  the  deputies  finally 
split,  beyond  all  chance  of  agreement,  on  the  ques- 
tions of  justification,  and  of  ecclesiastical  abuses.  On 
these  points,  into  which  the  whole  controversy  between 
the  Popish  and  reformed  religions  may  in  fact  be  sum- 
marily resolved,  the  division  was  peremptory  and  de- 
finitive. A  second  conference,  in  which  the  disputants 
were  limited  to  six  of  each  party,  had  a  similar  issue  : 
and  the  Protestant  delegates,  reassured  of  the  utter 
futility  of  all  further  endeavours  to  propitiate  the  clients 
of  the  Papacy,  once  more  demanded  that  the  two  capi- 
tal subjects  of  contention  should  be  referred  to  the  ad- 
judication of  a  council. 

Apprized  of  the  result  of  these  discussions,  the 
emperor,  in  angry  terms,  intimated  his  dissatisfaction 
with  their  conduct  to  the  Lutheran  electors,  and  impe- 
ratively demanded  their  immediate  submission  to  the 
see  of  Rome,  and  the  precise  forms  of  worship  estab- 
lished in  the  empire.  On  the  22d  of  September  the 
diet  promulgated  a  species  of  provisional  enactment, 
termed  a  recess;  granting  a  space  of  five  months  to 
the  German  Evangelicals  for  conforming  to  the  impe- 


264  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

rial  ritual ;  and  requiring  them,  meantime,  to  be  active 
in  extirpating  trie  errors  of  the  Anabaptists  and  of 
Zuinglius.  The  latter  clause,  we  suspect,  had  its  rise 
in  the  politic  wish  of  the  emperor  to  save  himself  both 
the  trouble  and  the  danger  of  a  forcible  intervention, 
by  arraying  one  section  of  the  reformers  against  an- 
other, and  thus  driving  all  of  them  to  seek,  by  the  offer 
of  renewed  fealty,  to  strengthen  themselves  by  the 
support  of  the  pontificate.  If  such  were  really  his 
motrves,  they  show  indeed  a  want  of  generous  sympa- 
thy, and  a  wretched  misapprehension  of  the  influences 
which  actuated  the  parents  of  the  Reformation.  That 
for  the  moment  he  really  did  entertain  some  such  de- 
lusive expectation,  we  are  the  more  convinced  by  the 
fact  of  his  having  shortly  after  (when  time  enough  had 
passed  to  open  his  eyes  to  the  mistake)  procured  an- 
other and  far  more  severe  edict  to  be  promulgated ; 
which,  though  it  repeated  his  promise  to  intercede  with 
the  pope  for  the  convocation  of  a  council,  revived  the 
infamous  decree  of  Worms,  and  denounced  vengeance 
on  those  states  and  cities  whose  allegiance  should  con- 
tinue to  be  withdrawn  from  the  visible  head  of  the  church. 
That  which  encouraged  Luther  in  the  midst  of  such 
trials  and  threatening  calamities,  was  the  conviction, 
which  all  his  observations  strengthened,  that  what  he 
knew  to  be  the  "work  of  God"  was  prospering  and 
extending.  In  a  letter  written  to  the  elector  of  Saxony, 
on  the  22d  of  May,  1530,  he  speaks  of  the  youth  of 
the  electorate  as  growing  up  well  instructed  in  the 
catechism,  and  in  the  word  of  God.  "  It  gives  me 
great  and  singular  pleasure,"  he  says,  "  when  I  see 
that  boys  and  girls  can  now  understand  and  speak 
better  concerning  God  and  Christ,  than  formerly  could 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  265 

have  been  done  by  the  colleges,"  monasteries,  and 
schools  of  the  Papacy,  or  than  they  can  do  even  yet.' 

"  There  is  thus,"  he  continues,  "  planted  in  youi 
highness's  dominions  a  very  pleasant  paradise,  to 
which  there  is  nothing  similar  in  the  whole  world. 
And  by  planting  this  paradise,  God  most  evidently  de- 
monstrates his  mercy  and  favour  to  your  highness.  It 
is  as  though  he  should  say, '  Most  beloved  Prince  John, 
I  commend  these  children  to  thee,  as  my  most  pre- 
cious treasure  :  they  are  my  celestial  paradise  of 
pleasant  plants.  Be  thou  a  father  to  them.  I  place 
them  under  thy  protection  and  rule,  and  honour  thee, 
by  making  thee  the  president  and  patron  of  this  hea- 
venly garden.' " 

In  the  course  of  the  diet,  Melancthon  had  written 
to  him  a  letter  full  of  fears  for  the  cause  in  which  they 
were  engaged.  Luther,  in  reply,  reproves  him  for  his 
unbelief,  and  expresses  the  ground  of  his  own  confi- 
dence. "  If  it  be  false,"  he  writes,  "  that  God  has 
given  his  Son  for  us,  then  the  devil,  or  whoever  you 
please,  may  be  said  to  be  in  my  place  ;  but  if  it  be 
true,  what  need  is  there  of  our  care  and  solicitude,  our 
sadness  and  trepidation  ?  As  though  He  who  gave  us 
his  Son,  would  not  help  us  in  these  lighter  matters ; 
or  as  though  the  devil  were  stronger  than  He.  In 
private  griefs  and  struggles  thou  art  stronger  than  I  ; 
but  in  public  difficulties  the  strength  is  mine.  On  the 
contrary,  such  thou  art  in  public,  as  I  am  in  private  ; 
if  that  should  be  called  private  which  occurs  between 
Satan  and  me.  Thou  fearest  nothing  for  thyself ;  thou 
fearest  all  for  the  public  :  while  I,  for  the  public  cau&e, 
am  quite  at  ease,  because  I  know  it  to  be  the  just  and 
true  cause  of  Christ  and  God.  I  am  therefore  a  quiet 
12 


266  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

and  secure  spectator.  If  we  are  ruined,  Christ  will 
be  ruined  with  us  ;  Christ  the  ruler  of  the  world. 
And  let  it  be  so.  Better  sink  with  Christ  than 
reign  with  Cesar.  I  beseech  thee  by  Christ,  that 
thou  neglect  not  those  promises  and  consolations  of 
which  the  Psalms  and  Evangelists  are  full.  Cast  thy 
care  upon  God  ;  wait  upon  the  Lord  ;  be  of  good 
courage,  and  he  shall  strengthen  thine  heart.  '  Be  of 
good  cheer,'  said  Christ,  '  I  have  overcome  the  world.' 
If  the  world  be  conquered,  shall  we  fear  it  as  though 
it  were  victor  ?  This  is  not  good  :  I  know  it  is  weak- 
ness of  faith.  Let  us  pray,  with  the  apostles,  ■  Lord, 
increase  our  faith  !' " 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  267 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  final  decree  of  trie  Diet  of  Augsburg,  which  was 
not  agreed  to  until  after  most  of  the  Evangelical  members 
had  quitted  the  city,  at  once  broke  down  the  last  rem- 
nant of  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the  reformers  to 
arm  for  the  defence  of  the  truth,  and  of  their  own  most 
sacred  rights.  Even  Luther  himself,  deeply  as  he  had 
hitherto  protested  against  all  anticipative  preparations 
for  withstanding  persecution  by  force,  now  gave  his 
approbation  to  the  immediate  adjustment  between  the 
Protestant  states  of  a  plan  for  mutual  protection  against 
the  threatened  invasion  of  their  religious  liberty.  In 
the  spring  of  the  following  year  he  published  two 
works,  asserting,  in  strong  phrase,  that  to  resist  attacks, 
such  as  were  indicated  by  the  recent  edict,  was  a 
solemn  and  imperative  duty,  which  the  reformed  sove- 
reigns would  not  be  true  to  themselves  or  to  their 
country  if  they  failed  to  discharge.  The  lawyers  of 
Saxony,  almost  to  a  man,  did  themselves  honour  by 
declaring  that  the  emperor,  besides  threatening  an  in- 
fraction of  the  independence  and  internal  freedom  of 
the  several  estates  which  acknowledged  the  Protestant 
religion,  had  usurped  a  jurisdiction  in  things  purely 
ecclesiastical,  which  was  foreign  to  the  federal  con- 
stitution. 

Scarcely  was  the  decree  issued,  when  the  landgrave 
of  Hesse,  with  the  impetuous  promptitude  which  dis- 
tinguished all  his  movements,  entered  into  a  defensive 
alliance  with  the  imperial  city  of  Strasburg,  and  the 
cantons  of  Basle  and    Zurich.     Only  three  or   four 


268  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

months  elapsed  before,  at  the  instigation  of  the  same 
prince,  a  meeting  of  the  Evangelical  rulers  took  place  ; 
in  which,  after  mature  deliberation,  the  basis  of  an 
armed  confederacy  was  provisionally  adjusted.  An 
adjourned  consultation,  held  in  June,  1531,  at  Frankfort- 
sur-Maine,  was  shortly  succeeded  by  the  definitive 
conclusion  of  the  treaty,  which  is  known  to  history 
under  the  title  of  the  League  of  Smalcalde.  This 
famous  paction  bound  the  subscribing  powers  to  main- 
tain, each  of  them,  for  the  space  of  six  years,  a  mili- 
tary force,  ready,  in  the  event  of  any  aggression  on 
the  part  of  the  emperor,  to  afford  assistance  to  the  par- 
ticular principality  or  town  which  might  happen  to 
become  the  scene  of  attempted  violence.  The  princes, 
at  the  same  time,  put  forth  a  manifesto,  embracing  a 
statement  of  their  demands  in  regard  to  the  convening 
of  a  general  and  free  council,  and  the  effectual  purga- 
tion of  the  Imperial  Church  ;  accompanied  with  a  calm 
but  resolute  denial  of  the  authority  of  the  emperor  in 
matters  of  religion,  and  an  exposition  of  the  purpose 
and  the  grounds  of  their  mutual  compact. 

It  was  not  without  alarm  that  Charles  contemplated 
these  ominous  proceedings.  In  the  vain  assurance 
that  the  reformers  were  to  be  subdued  by  terror,  he 
had  committed  the  grand  blunder  of  stretching  his 
power  too  far.  Nor  could  a  more  inauspicious  mo- 
ment for  such  an  error  have  been  chosen.  With 
the  remembrance  of  defeat,  captivity,  and  ungenerous 
treatment  still  sore  upon  him,  Francis  I.  watched  with 
an  evil  eye  the  accumulation  of  those  difficulties  which 
were  gathering  thick  around  his  rival  and  recent  op- 
pressor. Waiting  only  for  a  favourable  opportunity  to 
attack  the  empire,  with  a  strength  increased  propor- 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  269 

tionably  to  his  vindictive  sense  of  injury  and  humilia- 
tion, the  French  king  had  contracted  an  alliance  with 
Henry  VIII.  of  England,  which,  under  cover  of  a  vague 
determination  to  preserve  a  balance  of  power  in  Eu- 
rope, thinly  disguised  intentions  hostile  to  the  German 
autocrat.  With  both  of  these  monarchs  the  confede- 
rates of  Smalcalde  opened  negotiations  ;  soliciting  their 
support  in  repelling  those  encroachments  on  their  in- 
dependence and  constitutional  prerogatives  which  the 
emperor  proposed  to  attempt.  The  promises,  eagerly 
given,  of  aid  from  the  two  kings,  and  the  consequent 
existence,  in  the  centre  of  his  own  territory,  of  a  nu- 
merous and  banded  interest,  which,  formidable  in  itself, 
was  doubly  to  be  dreaded  from  its  connection  with  his 
most  potent  enemies,  were  circumstances  well  adapted 
to  fill  Charles  with  apprehension  and  dismay.  The 
alienation  of  so  large  a  body  of  his  subjects,  headed 
by  the  ablest  princes  of  the  land,  he  could  not  but 
regard  with  serious  disquietude.  Occurring,  as  it  did, 
at  an  hour  when  the  continuance  of  the  Turkish  war, 
and  the  recollection  of  the  past  successes  and  indomi- 
table energy  of  the  sultan,  afforded  ample  occasion 
both  of  embarrassment  and  misgiving,  that  alienation 
was  an  event  which  called  for  instant  reparation. 
There  were  other  motives,  likewise,  operating  to  im- 
press on  the  imperial  mind  the  necessity  of  promptly 
recovering  the  good-will  which  his  own  imprudence 
and  imperious  folly  had  estranged.  Charles  at  this 
time  was  bent  on  securing  to  his  own  family  the  suc- 
cession to  his  throne,  by  the  elevation  of  his  brother 
Ferdinand  to  the  dignity  of  king  of  the  Romans ;  a 
titular  distinction  conferred  by  the  unanimous  voice  of 
the  electors,  which,  by  prescription,  amounted  to  a 


270  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

recognition  of  the  future  emperor.  To  accomplish 
this  scheme,  it  was  essential  to  win  the  consent  of  the 
princes  of  Brandenberg  and  Saxony,  to  whom  the 
archduke  was,  in  some  measure,  personally  obnoxious  ; 
and  who,  having  refused  to  vote  for  his  election,  were 
not  likely  to  be  moved  from  their  express  determina- 
tion so  long  as  the  penal  rigours  lately  denounced 
against  the  religious  body  they  upheld  should  be  suf- 
fered to  remain  in  force. 

Urged  by  these  considerations,  and  not  improbably 
reluctant,  for  other  reasons,  to  provoke  the  perilous 
outburst  of  a  religious  war,  Charles  V.  solicited  the 
friendly  intervention  between  himself  and  the  sub- 
scribers to  the  treaty  of  Smalcalde,  of  the  elector  pala- 
tine and  the  archbishop  of  Mentz.  Through  their 
mediation  a  compromise  was  at  length  negotiated.  On 
the  25th  of  July,  1531,  the  pacification  of  Nuremberg 
(as  it  has  been  termed)  was  signed,  and  ratified  at  a 
diet  held  at  Ratisbon  in  the  following  month.  By  this 
agreement,  the  Protestants  were  left  free  to  use  their 
own  ceremonial  of  devotion,  and  to  profess  the  reformed 
doctrine,  until  the  rule  of  faith  should  be  absolutely 
settled  either  by  a  council  assembled  within  six 
months,  or  by  a  diet  of  the  empire,  to  be  specially 
holden  for  that  purpose.  The  conditions  of  this  paci- 
fication stipulated  for  an  immediate  repeal,  by  the  em- 
peror, of  the  decrees  of  Worms  and  Augsburg;  the 
reformers,  for  their  part,  agreeing  to  aid  in  the  prose- 
cution of  the  war  against  the  Turks,  and  to  confirm  the 
archduke  of  Austria  in  possession  of  the  Roman  crown. 
To  the  pope  this  negotiation  gave  extreme  dissatisfac- 
tion. It  formed  another  in  the  interminable  series  of 
delays  which  was  ever  frustrating  the  execution  of 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  271 

those  malignant  designs  which  doomed  Luther  and  his 
immortal  fellow-labourers  to  destruction.  It  was,  not- 
withstanding, far  enough  from  providing  full  security 
for  the  safe  on-going  of  the  Reformation.  It  esta- 
blished only  a  hollow  and  momentary  truce,  not  a  sub- 
stantial and  enduring  peace ;  but  he  is  something 
worse  than  blind  who  does  not  see,  in  the  perpetual 
emergence  of  such  barriers  to  persecution,  springing 
up,  as  they  did,  out  of  passions  and  combinations 
which  had  no  overt  or  definable  affinity  to  the  cause, 
the  presence  and  the  overruling  power  of  Him,  who, 
holding  the  angels  of  his  churches  in  his  right  hand, 
rebukes  the  malice  that  would  injure  them,  even  by 
the  issues  of  its  own  deeds,  and  repeats  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  his  providence  the  admonition  recorded  in  his 
word,  "  Touch  not  mine  anointed,  and  do  my  prophets 
no  harm."  While  the  diet  was  sitting  at  Ratisbon, 
and  the  Nuremberg  pacification  was  before  the  princes 
of  the  empire,  news  arrived  that  Solyman,  at  the  head 
of  three  hundred  thousand  men,  had  invaded  Hungary. 
Charles  at  once  ratified  the  agreement ;  the  Protestant 
and  Catholic  princes  came  forward  with  their  troops, 
and  the  emperor,  in  August,  1531,  marched  to  meet 
the  invader  with  such  an  army,  that  the  Turks 
withdrew  at  his  approach,  and  retired  again  to  Con- 
stantinople. Thus,  seemingly  at  the  moment  of  im- 
pending danger,  did  those  circumstances  occur  which 
once  more  left  the  reformers  free  to  prosecute  their 
plans. 

The  elector  John  of  Saxony  did  not  long  survive 
the  conclusion  of  this  temporary  reconcilement.  He 
died  in  August,  1531.  His  son  and  successor,  John 
Frederic,  though  inferior  in  talent  and  prudential  fore- 


272  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

cast,  was,  nevertheless,  not  without  a  portion  of  the 
tranquil  and  fearless  magnanimity  of  the  uncle  whose 
name,  jointly  with  that  of  his  father,  he  bore.  W.i*h 
the  ardour  and  zeal  natural  to  his  age,  the  young  elec- 
tor united  also  not  a  little  of  that  penetration  and  po- 
litical address  which  had  honourably  characterized  the 
most  eminent  member  of  his  family.  Those  qualities, 
so  estimable  in  themselves,  had  their  value  much 
enhanced  by  the  ripe  and  swift  judgment  which  dic- 
tated their  uses  ;  and  which,  coupled  as  it  was  with  a 
certain  prepared  energy  and  readiness  for  action,  set  a 
stamp  of  more  than  common  worth  upon  the  whole 
character  of  the  new  sovereign.  Raised  virtually  to 
the  station  of  chief  protector  of  the  Protestant  faith,  he 
acquitted  himself  successfully  and  well.  Neither  un- 
conscious of  the  responsibilities  attached  to  his  posi- 
tion, nor  shrinking  from  their  pressure,  he  bent  the 
forces  of  a  clear  understanding  and  a  vigorous  will  to 
the  service  of  the  noble  cause  which  he  was  called  to 
sustain  and  foster. 

The  youthful  ruler  had  but  shortly  been  settled  on 
the  throne  of  his  ancestors,  when  it  became  evident, 
from  the  suspicious  coldness  of  the  imperial  court,  that 
Charles  had  no  sincere  care  to  observe  the  terms  of 
his  engagement  with  the  Evangelical  League.  Bare 
toleration  they  enjoyed  ;  but  it  was  rather  from  terror  of 
the  opposition  which  an  active  oppression  was  likely  to 
arouse,  than  from  any  scrupulous  or  cordial  regard  for 
the  pledged  honour  of  the  emperor.  Numerous  indi- 
cations betrayed  a  desire  to  elude  the  strict  fulfilment 
of  the  treaty  of  Nuremberg,  if  not  by  direct  and  tangi- 
ble infringement  of  its  articles,  by  so  cold  and  stingy 
a  compliance  with  the  bare  letter  of  their  stipulations, 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  273 

as  inferred  a  willingness  to  seize  the  first  occasion  to 
annul  them  altogether.  Awake  to  the  significance  of 
this  heartless  and  reluctant  amity,  the  elector  omitted 
no  exertion  to  draw  close  the  bonds  of  friendship  be- 
tween the  contracted  princes,  and  to  multiply  their 
available  resources,  in  case  of  need.  By  this  show 
of  timely  precaution,  Charles  was  again  admonished 
of  the  impolicy  of  dealing  perfidiously  with  the  chief- 
tains of  a  body  which,  by  the  year  1532,  had  spread 
itself  over  nearly  half  of  the  dependencies  of  the  em- 
pire ;  he  set  himself  in  earnest,  therefore,  to  wring 
from  the  pontiff  the  convocation  of  a  council,  without 
longer  evasion  or  delay. 

On  the  way  to  visit  his  Italian  conquests,  in  the 
early  part  of  1533,  the  emperor  sought  a  conference 
with  the  pope  at  Bologna,  and  urged  his  spiritual  ally 
to  yield  at  once  to  the  wishes  of  all  Catholic  Europe, 
and  put  an  end  to  the  Lutheran  secession,  by  summon- 
ing a  general  assembly  of  the  Papal  theologians  and 
prelates.  To  have  refused  to  act  on  a  suggestion  so 
powerfully  recommended,  and  so  precisely  in  unison 
with  the  known  and  universal  anxiety  of  every  Chris- 
tian state,  would  have  rekindled  the  anger  of  the  Ger- 
man monarch ;  an  anger  which,  having  before  smarted 
under  its  inflictions,  the  crafty  and  unheroical  pontiff 
had  learned  to  dread  even  more,  perhaps,  than  he 
trembled  to  incur  the  general  odium  which  such  a  re- 
fusal would  have  drawn  upon  him.  He  discovered, 
too,  that  Charles  was  not  again  to  be  diverted  from  his 
aim  by  any  of  those  dexterous  shifts  which,  in  a  former 
instance,  had  turned  aside  the  pressure  of  the  same  pro- 
position. Thus  cut  off  from  every  pretext  for  further 
procrastination,  while  his  attempted  and  side  way  avoid- 
12* 


274  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

ances  of  the  demand  were  no  longer  suffered  to  avail, 
Clement  professed  a  ready  and  even  eager  acquies- 
cence, and  affected  to  consult  with  his  august  suitor 
as  to  the  best  means  of  rendering  the  proposed  council 
satisfactory  as  a  tribunal  to  all  parties  interested,  and 
of  investing  its  decisions  with  practical  and  sufficient 
efficacy.  Nothing,  however,  could  be  further  from  his 
real  intentions  than  to  comply  with  the  imperial  prayer. 
To  elude  the  embarrassments  incident  to  that  solicita- 
tion, he  resolved,  with  the  aptitude  of  a  life-long  prac- 
tice in  duplicity,  so  to  hamper  the  entire  project,  as 
indefinitely  to  postpone,  if  not  finally  to  defeat,  its  exe- 
cution. Under  colour  of  endeavouring  to  adjust  the 
preliminary  arrangements  requisite  for  the  holding  of 
an  assembly  which  he  never  meant  to  convene,  he 
offered  to  them  certain  bases  for  the  constitution  and 
appellate  authority  of  the  proposed  council,  to  which, 
as  was  rightly  foreseen,  the  objections  on  their  side 
were  various  and  insurmountable.  With  the  very 
thought  of  such  delusive  negotiations  leading  to  any 
kind  of  agreement  between  himself  and  the  seceders 
from  the  Papacy  all  along  absent  from  his  heart,  he 
contrived  to  protract  the  solemn  farce,  until,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1534,  death  put  a  period  to  his  hypocritical  labours 
and  nefarious  ingenuity. 

Luther,  in  the  meanwhile,  had  been  pursuing  his 
usual  course  of  studying,  teaching,  and  preaching. 
His  life,  during  these  years,  presents  scarcely  any  in- 
cidents. His  path  of  duty  was  very  uniform,  and  he 
sceadily  pursued  it.  To  the  establishment  of  funda- 
mental truth  he  appears  chiefly  to  have  devoted  him- 
self;  while  to  his  coadjutor  and  friend,  Melancthon, 
he  left,  for  the  most  part,  the  task  of  amplifying,  guard- 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  275 

ing,  and  of  stating  publicly,  and  with  sufficient  ele- 
gance and  care,  what  he  had  himself,  in  the  course  of 
his  studies,  been  enabled  to  perceive.  Indeed,  nothing 
is  more  remarkable,  nothing  more  instructive,  in  the 
character  of  these  two  great  men,  than  their  unbroken 
friendship  for  each  other,  and  their  mutual  subserviency 
and  subordination.  Their  conjoint  position  in  refer- 
ence to  the  work  of  God  cannot  be  attentively  con- 
sidered without  the  discovery  of  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  laws  of  divine  Providence.  God  has 
made  man  for  dependance  on  himself,  his  Maker,  and 
constant  Preserver ;  he  has  made  him,  likewise,  for 
such  union  with  his  fellows  as  always  implies  mutual 
dependance,  and  affectionate  co-operation.  No  one 
man  is  able  to  do  everything.  If  for  one  particular 
service  his  peculiar  constitution  eminently  fits  him,  by 
that  very  peculiarity  he  may  be  unfitted  for  some 
other,  and  not  less  necessary,  branch  ;  which,  that  it 
may  not  be  omitted,  has  to  be  performed  by  another 
person.  And  often  does  it  occur  that  by  the  union  of 
two,  whose  mental  constitutions  greatly  differ,  more 
may  be  done  than  the  sum  of  their  labours  carried  on 
separately  would  produce.  Luther  and  Melancthon 
did  more  by  labouring  in  conjunction,  than  Luther  and 
Melancthon  could  have  done  by  labouring  separately  ; 
especially  if  each,  in  all  that  he  did,  had  jealously  kept 
in  view  the  honour  to  be  obtained  by  his  own  acknow- 
ledged superiority  in  his  own  providential  department 
of  labour.  Luther  could  do  what  Melancthon  could 
not  do ;  Melancthon  could  do  what  Luther  could  not 
do.  But  more  than  this.  Peculiar  fitness  may  border 
on  peculiar  unfitness  ;  and  this,  if  not  unchecked,  may 
interfere  materially  with  the  efficiency  even  of  the 


276  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

efforts  for  which  the  individual  is  best  prepared.  That 
the  public  may  have  the  full  benefit  of  his  providential 
endowments,  it  is  necessary  that  they  be  stimulated  to 
the  point  up  to  which  their  efficiency  extends,  and  that 
they  be  checked  just  when  that  efficiency  is  about  to 
become  injurious.  It  is  delightful  to  see  these  two 
devoted  men  so  uniting  as  to  harmonize  with  each 
other.  Melancthon  knew  how  to  check  what  might 
have  been  the  undue  ardour  of  Luther ;  Luther  knew 
how  to  excite  the  cautious  timidy  of  Melancthon. 
Each  was  aware  of  his  own  deficiency,  and  each  saw 
how  well  his  own  deficiency  was  met  by  the  peculiar 
excellence  of  the  other.  Instead  of  an  unhallowed 
rivalry  between  them,  each  delighted  to  exalt  the 
other.  Melancthon  knew  how  to  eulogize  the  holy 
resolution  and  boldness  of  Luther  ;  Luther  knew  how 
to  eulogize  the  cautious  and  examining  timidity  of  Me- 
lancthon. Each  knew  what  he  could  do,  and  what  he 
could  not  do ;  and  each  was  willing — was  willing  ? 
was  more  than  willing,  was  desirous — that  what  he 
could  not  do  by  himself,  should  be  done  by  the  assist- 
ance of  his  friend.  And  the  reason  was  plain.  Each 
looked  at  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  not  at  his  own 
honour.  If  the  interests  of  religion  were  promoted,  and 
Luther  were  the  instrument,  Melancthon  rejoiced  ;  if 
Melancthon  were  the  instrument,  Luther  rejoiced. 
And  let  it  be  again  observed,  that  thus  was  the  sum  of 
their  labour  greater  than  their  separated  endeavours 
could  have  produced.  Luther's  share  would  have  had 
to  be  taken  with  the  drawbacks  occasioned  by  his  pe- 
culiar defects  ;  and  so  as  to  Melancthon.  But  labour- 
ing in  affectionate  union,  each  assisted  to  check  the 
tendency  to  evil  which  existed  in  the  other,  and  to  re- 


LIFE   OF    MARTIN   LUTHER.  277 

duce  it  to  its  lowest  practical  influence  ;  and  the  con- 
sequence was,  that  each  furnished  a  larger  share  of 
usefulness  than  he  could  otherwise  have  contributed. 
More  glory  was  brought  to  God ;  more  service  was 
performed  for  the  church.  And  why?  Because  each 
delighted  to  honour  the  other,  and  to  see  the  other 
honoured.  Luther  was  always  gratified  to  hear  Me- 
lancthon  praised,  and  to  see  Melancthon  employed ;  and 
so  was  Melancthon  as  to  Luther.  Instead  of  a  jealous 
sensitiveness  about  his  own  fame,  producing  a  foolish 
and  sinful  rivalry,  each  acknowledged  the  gifts  of  the 
other,  and  both  were  willing  to  employ  them  conjointly, 
for  the  honour  of  the  Giver. 

And  this  was  according  to  the  design  of  God.  As 
man  is,  the  talents  of  Luther  and  Melancthon  could 
not  have  been  united  in  one  person.  They  were  dis- 
tributed, therefore,  that  the  share  of  each  might  be 
more  efficient.  And  when  these  two  excellent  men 
agreed  to  labour  in  harmony,  they  set  an  example  of 
obedience  to  the  Scriptural  injunctions, — "  Look  not 
every  man  on  his  own  things,  but  every  man,  also,  on 
the  things  of  others: — in  honour  preferring  one  an- 
other ;" — which  for  clearness  and  power  has  never 
been  surpassed,  seldom  equalled.  And  they  were 
themselves  benefited  by  this.  Each  was  more  useful 
by  the  aid  of  the  other  ;  and  thus  each  has  a  larger 
degree  of  honour  than  would  have  fallen  to  his  share 
had  he  laboured  alone,  and  sought  to  obscure  his  rival's 
fame,  lest  his  own  should  be  shaded  They  crucified 
their  own  corrupt  nature,  and  sought  to  have  "  that 
mind  in  them  which  had  been  before  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  They  were  fellow-helpers  to  the  truth,  where 
they  might  have  been  unholy  rivals  ;  and  as  they  thus 


278  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

honoured  God,  God  has  honoured  them.  Each  shines 
in  his  own  distinguishing  light ;  and  yet  by  shining  in 
conjunction,  the  light  of  each  is  increased. 

The  ardour  of  Luther  in  defence  of  what  he  regard- 
ed as  the  cardinal  doctrine  of  divine  revelation,  passing 
years  rather  increased  than  diminished.  Thus,  in 
1531,  he  wrote,  "  This  article  (namely,  that  faith  with- 
out any  work  justifies  before  God)  shall  be  overturned 
neither  by  emperor  nor  king  ;  neither  by  Turk  nor  Tar- 
tar :  the  pope  cannot  subvert  it ;  nor  the  whole  body 
of  cardinals,  or  bishops,  or  monks,  or  nuns.  Princes 
and  dynasties  cannot  put  it  down.  No,  nor  all  the 
world,  even  though  all  the  devils  should  contribute  their 
help.  They  who  try  to  put  it  down  shall  have  the 
infernal  fire  for  the  reward  of  their  contradiction.  Thus 
say  I,  Doctor  Martin  Luther,  the  Spirit  of  God  moving 
me  ;  and  this  is  the  true  gospel  of  Christ." 

This  doctrine  he  goes  on  to  prove  by  a  simple  yet 
very  striking  argumeut,  and  one  which  is  very  illus- 
trative of  his  own  peculiar  mode  of  thinking.  Quoting 
the  Apostles'  Creed,  he  says,  "I  believe  in  Jesus 
Christ,  crucified,  dead,  and  buried.  I  find  not  that  any 
other  died  for  sin,  or  can  take  it  away.  If,  therefore, 
no  other  died  for  our  sins,  then  all  men,  with  all  their 
works,  are  to  be  excluded  from  having  any  part  in  the 
remission  of  sins,  and  justification.  Neither  does  Christ 
deliver  from  sin  otherwise  than  as  he  is  apprehended 
by  faith,  and  this  cannot  be  done  by  works.  But  if 
fanh,  before  works  follow,  apprehends  Christ,  it  is  of 
necessity  true  that  by  faith  alone  we  appropriate  re 
demption  to  ourselves  ;  in  other  words,  by  faith  alone 
we  are  justified.  After  faith,  indeed,  good  works  fol- 
low as  its  fruit.    This  is  our  doctrine.    Thus  does  the 


LTFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  279 

Holy  Spirit,  thus  does  the  whole  Christian  church, 
teach.  In  this,  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  are  resolved 
to  persist.     Amen." 

His  eulogy  on  the  deceased  elector  is  very  charac- 
teristic. "  I  will  not  praise  him,"  he  says,  "  for  his 
great  virtues.  I  acknowledge  that  he  was  a  sinner,  as 
we  all  are,  and  that  he  had  need  of  forgiveness  of  sin. 
Nor  will  I  represent  him  as  though  he  had  been  a  man 
free  from  every  spot.  And  yet  he  was  one  of  the  best 
and  most  humane  of  men,  without  any  guile  ;  in  whom 
none  could  note  either  pride,  or  anger,  or  envy ;  who 
forgave  most  readily,  and  who  carried  his  mildness  and 
lenity  to  a  fault.  If  sometimes  in  his  government  he 
erred,  what  wonder  1  princes  are  but  men,  and  where 
private  men  have  one  devil  about  them,  they  have  ten." 

In  the  year  1532  he  preached  a  sermon  on  expect- 
ing and  desiring  the  coming  of  Christ.  In  this  he  ex- 
presses, in  the  most  pathetic  language,  the  grief  that  he 
felt  for  the  prevailing  wickedness  of  the  age,  and  de- 
clares that  his  whole  comfort  was  derived  from  the 
hope  that  a  better  state  of  things  should  one  day  be 
established.  "  O  my  God,"  he  exclaimed,  "  were  there 
not  that  day  to  be  looked  for,  I  should  choose  rather 
not  to  have  been  born."  He  refers  to  the  opposition 
which  the  revived  gospel  continued  to  receive  from  its 
persecuting  adversaries.  He  refers,  likewise,  to  the 
evils  which  were  too  plainly  evident  even  where  a 
purer  faith  was  professed.  "  Even  among  ourselves, 
we  have  to  bear  with  false,  fraudulent,  and  lying  men. 
Where  is  discipline,  honesty,  reverence?  Do  men 
become  always  the  worse  for  being  preached  to  and 
reproved  ?  Certainly  it  seems  as  if  from  our  most  be- 
loved, our  most  precious  gospel,  we  had  hitherto  gained 


280  LIFE   OF    MARTIN   LUTHER. 

nothing  but  contempt,  and  ignominy,  and  diabolical 
hatred.  These  are  the  things  that  penetrate  and  tear 
the  heart  of  true  Christians.  Why,  therefore,  do  we 
not  cry  to  the  Lord  day  and  night,  that  he  would  over- 
turn all  these  things,  and  put  an  end  to  this  impious  state 
of  things,  and  its  calamities  ?  Most  miserable  should 
we  be,  unless  we  were  able  to  hope  for  deliverance." 

No  one  who  understands  human  nature  will  mistake 
the  meaning  of  the  holy  reformer.  He  did  not  over- 
look the  good  that  God  had  been  pleased  to  effect  by 
the  instrumentality  of  himself  and  his  fellow-labourers. 
He  not  only  saw  it,  but  rejoiced  in  it,  and  gave  glory 
to  God  on  account  of  it.  But  he  saw  that  there  were 
those  who,  while  they  professed"  to  receive  the  truth, 
yielded  not  to  its  sanctifying  power  ;  while  others  had 
turned  back  to  their  crooked  ways,  and  brought  re- 
proach on  the  cause  which  they  had  espoused.  And 
he  may  be  pardoned  if,  experiencing  the  saving  opera- 
tion of  the  truth  of  God  himself,  he  felt  a  melancholy 
disappointment  when  he  saw  so  many  who  had  received 
the  truth,  but  who  proved,  by  their  conduct,  that  their 
heart  and  conscience  were  not  affected  by  it.  He  had 
looked  at  the  power  of  God's  word,  and  had  hoped 
better  things  of  men.  His  disappointment  was  bitter ; 
but  let  not  its  object  be  mistaken.  It  was  not  that 
Evangelical  truth  had  done  nothing,  but  that  it  had  not 
done  all  that  he  had  desired  and  hoped.  Others  who 
have  been  employed  in  the  great  work  of  God,  when 
any  particular  revival  of  it  has  been  vouchsafed,  have 
made  similar  complaints. 

Paul  III.,  on  whom  the  sacred  college  next  devolved 
the  Roman  primacy,  displayed  upon  his  first  accession 
a  less  treacherous  readiness  to  abate  the  corruptions 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  281 

of  the  pontifical  court,  and  concede  to  the  general  voice 
some  of  the  principal  reforms  for  which  it  clamoured. 
That  he  was  thoroughly  honest  in  his  professions  of 
anxiety  for  the  immediate  convention  of  a  council  is 
exceedingly  dubious.  But,  whatever  were  his  secret 
meditations  on  this  head,  there  can  be  no  question  that 
the  only  form  he  contemplated  of  such  a  meeting  was 
one  which  would  have  made  it  a  mere  instrument  of 
the  tyranny  and  hatreds  of  the  Papal  see.  Composed 
as  he  prescribed  that  it  should  be  composed,  that  meet- 
ing would  have  presented  the  anomalous  spectacle, 
which  in  after-years  was  actually  realized  by  the 
Council  of  Trent,  of  a  deliberative  body  being  at  once 
witness  and  criminal,  sitting  in  judgment  on  themselves. 
It  would  have  been,  in  effect,  neither  more  nor  less 
than  an  organized  machine  to  echo  and  record  the 
foregone  conclusions  of  the  popedom,  in  regard  as  well 
to  its  own  dogmas  and  internal  polity,  as  to  the  alleged 
heresies  of.  the  reformers.  That  the  jurisdiction  of  a 
court  so  constituted  would  never  be  acknowledged  by 
the  Evangelical  teachers,  Paul  must  have  known,  when 
he  despatched  Verger,  an  ecclesiastic  of  superior  ability 
and  high  rank,  into  Germany,  as  legate  extraordinary, 
to  ascertain  the  exact  construction  of  the  council  re- 
quired by  the  Protestants,  and  the  conditions  upon 
which  they  would  submit  to  be  bound  by  its  determina- 
tions. The  truth  is,  that  the  single  object  which  the 
pope  sought  to  accomplish  by  calling  this  oft-promised 
assembly  of  divines,  was  to  exterminate  that  revived 
purity  and  ennobling  power  of  Christianity  which  had 
struck  off  the  fetters  of  a  base  and  outworn  superstition, 
and  given  back  to  the  defrauded  spirit  of  mankind  its 
native  and  immortal  freedom. 


282  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

In  the  whole  eventful  history  of  Luther,  no  indivi- 
dual occurrence  more  palpably  illustrates  the  victory 
of  religious  truth  than  does  the  embassy  of  Verger. 
What  a  contrast  is  here  presented  to  the  insolent  and 
haughty  scorn  which  hung  upon  the  outset  of  his 
career!  How  different  the  mission  of  this  nuncio 
from  those  of  Cajetan  and  Aleandro!  In  the  short 
.space  of  fifteen  years,  the  feeble  and  obscure  monk  of 
Wittenberg,  struggling  with  poverty,  and  thrice  excom- 
municated,— the  man  cited  like  a  felon  before  cardinals 
and  princes, — is  lifted  to  a  moral  eminence  so  con- 
spicuous and  commanding,  so  high  above  all  hope  of 
touching  him,  even  with  the  fulminations  of  ecclesias- 
tical wrath,  that  the  supreme  lord  of  the  whole  Chris- 
tian world,  he  at  whose  feet  monarchs  bowed  in 
homage,  and  who  claimed  to  be  God's  vicegerent  upon 
earth,  is  seen  humbling  himself  so  far  before  this  de- 
spised and  outcast  rebel,  as  to  send  a  prelate  of  distinc- 
tion in  the  church  to  ascertain  his  present,  sentiments 
and  purpose  in  relation  to  the  grand  tribunal  of  the 
assembled  hierarchy !  Such  was  the  tacit  confession 
of  that  substantial  dignity,  that  real  and  holy  elevation, 
which  an  unflinching  advocacy  of  the  pure  word  of 
God  had  bestowed  upon  the  liberator  of  the  hu- 
man INTELLECT,  AND  THE  TRANSLATOR  OF  THE  BlBLE. 

When  the  pope's  nuncio  arrived  at  Wittenberg,  Lu- 
ther willingly  attended,  and  conversed  with  him  on  the 
subject  of  the  intended  council.  "  It  is  now,"  he  said, 
"  useless  to  hold  a  council :  if  you  do  so,  no  object  of 
importance  will  be  accomplished  by  it.  Tonsures  and 
robes,  and  trivial  matters  of  that  sort,  will  be  discussed, 
instead  of  the  great  points  of  justification,  faith,  and 
Christian  unity.     In  matters  of  doctrine,  I,  and  those 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER.  283 

who  think  with  me,  have  no  need  of  any  light  that  a 
council  could  afford  us.  Our  opinions  are  fixed  :  and 
the  only  use  of  a  council  would  be  to  settle  the  belief 
of  persons  who  are  ignorant  and  weak  enough  to  take 
their  notions  from  other  men.  Nevertheless,  if  a 
council  is  to  be  really  assembled,  I  will  attend,  even 
although  I  should  know  beforehand  that  it  would  surely 
send  me  to  the  flames." 

"  And  where,"  asked  the  legate,  "  would  you  prefer 
this  council  to  be  held  ?" 

"  Anywhere  you  please,"  was  the  ready  response  of 
Luther.  "  Let  it  be  at  Petavia,  Florence,  or  Mantua, 
or  wherever  else  you  choose :  it  is  indifferent  to  me. 
In  whatever  place  it  may  sit,  I  will  be  there."  *  *  * 
"  Suppose,"  said  Verger,  "  the  pope  should  visit  you 
at  Wittenberg."  "  Let  him  come,  by  all  means,"  an- 
swered the  reformer.  "  But  would  you  have  him  come 
alone,  or  with  an  army  at  his  back  ?"  "  As  he  will," 
replied  Luther :  "  in  either  case  we  shall  be  ready  for 
him."  *  *  As  the  speaker  rose  to  depart,  the  nun- 
cio, in  a  tone  half-humorous  and  half-warning,  added, 
"  Do  not  forget,  doctor,  to  be  in  readiness  for  the  coun- 
cil." "  Have  no  fear  of  that,  my  lord  bishop,"  said  the 
other :  "  depend  upon  it,  I  will  be  present  at  the  coun- 
cil, though  I  know  that  it  will  be  at  the  risk  of  my 
neck." 

More  than  one  interview  afterward  took  place  be- 
tween Verger  and  the  elector,  accompanied  by  the 
prince  of  Hesse ;  but  all  their  conferences  came  to 
nothing ;  and  the  council,  though  it  continued  during 
the  remainder  of  Luther's  lifetime  to  be  always  talked 
of,  and  was  at  last  actually  summoned,  did  not  assemble 
at  Trent  until  a  few  months  after  his  death. 


284  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


It  was  pending  the  perfidious  negotiations  of  Clemen' 
VII.  relative  to  a  council  which  he  never  intended  tc 
hold,  that  the  pontificate  received  another  and  mortal 
blow  from  the  abjuration  of  its  authority  by  Henry  VIII. 
in  England.  The  annals  of  Europe  supply,  indeed, 
no  more  memorable  example  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  divine  Governor  of  the  world,  extracting  good  out 
of  evil,  causes  even  the  baseness  and  the  wrath  of 
man  to  praise  him,  than  appears  in  the  consequences 
of  an  act  prompted  by  the  mere  and  desperate  impa- 
tience of  the  most  truculent  tyrant  that  ever  wielded 
the  British  sceptre.  Exasperated  at  the  delay  and 
ultimate  refusal  of  his  suit  for  a  dispensation  from  his 
conjugal  vow  to  Catharine,  aunt  to  Charles  V.,  and 
aware  that  the  true  motive  of  that  refusal  was  sub- 
servience to  the  wishes  of  his  wife's  imperial  relation, 
the  English  despot  had  conceived  a  momentary  lust 
of  vengeance  upon  Charles,  as  the  real  and  successful 
thwarter  of  his  heartless  designs.  It  became,  accord- 
ingly, his  eager  policy  to  offer  assistance  and  support 
to  the  Protestant  confederates  of  the  empire.  Sympa- 
thy with  the  principles  on  which  their  union  was 
founded  Henry  had  none  ;  nor  care  for  that  purity  of 
Christian  doctrine  which  they  were  sworn  to  preserve. 
His  hope  was  only  to  find  means,  by  connecting  him- 
self with  the  German  reformers,  to  harass  and  wound 
the  emperor  ;  thus  giving  vent  to  the  vindictive  passion 
which  harboured  in  his  bosom. 

The  League  of  Smalcalde  having,  in  the  mean  time, 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  285 

been  extended  and  renewed,  the  king  of  England  de- 
spatched Fox,  bishop  of  Hereford,  attended  by  several 
other  clergymen,  as  his  ambassador,  to  propose  to  the 
contracted  princes  to  accept  of  his  alliance  in  the  quality 
of  protector  of  their  covenant.  To  this  proposal  the 
consent  of  those  princes  was  not  hard  to  be  obtained, 
upon  the  stipulation  that  their  intended  defender  should 
promote  the  adoption,  in  his  kingdom,  of  the  senti- 
ments imbodied  in  the  Confession  of  Augsburg.  The 
British  monarch  would  readily  have  agreed  to  the  con- 
dition ;  but  finding,  as  he  very  soon  did  find,  that  the 
Evangelical  allies  were  resolute  to  limit  the  scope  of 
their  combination  to  measures  purely  defensive  of  their 
own  freedom  of  conscience,  and  would  engage  in  no 
conspiracy  having  for  its  object  to  embarrass  and  de- 
grade the  emperor,  he  broke  off  the  treaty  ;  and  gradu- 
ally, as  a  good  understanding  was  restored  between 
himself  and  Charles,  ceased  to  take  any  further  con- 
cern in  the  affairs  of  Lutheran  Germany. 

The  negotiation,  however,  notwithstanding  its  pro- 
per business  was  thus  totally  defeated,  had  a  collateral 
issue,  which,  unforeseen,  and  as  little  coveted,  by  its 
savage  and  proud  inviter,  has  ever  since  proved  emi- 
nently beneficial  to  the  moral  interests  of  his  country. 
During  the  winter  of  1536-7,  Fox  and  his  suite  were 
detained  at  Wittenberg ;  where  their  daily  intercourse 
and  free  discussion  of  religious  questions  with  Luther 
and  his  learned  associates  aided  greatly  to  enlighten 
and  expand  the  views  of  the  English  divines.  To  this 
circumstance  may  partly  be  ascribed  the  singular  clear- 
ness and  rapidity  with  which  the  doctrines  of  the  Re- 
formation developed  themselves  in  our  own  land. 
Their   daily   and    familiar   conversations,   throughout 


286  LIFE   OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

several  months,  with  the  first  teachers  of  the  restored 
and  simple  gospel,  gave  to  the  British  envoys  the 
advantage  of  starting,  as  theological  instructers,  from 
those  advanced  points  of  Christian  knowledge  to  which 
the  Saxon  reformers  had  fought  their  way  through 
years  of  discouragement  and  doubt,  impeded  as  well 
by  the  long-lingering  prejudices  of  education  and  habit 
in  themselves,  as  by  the  force  of  ignorance,  prescrip- 
tion, and  authority,  together  with  a  thousand  kindred 
hinderances,  in  others.  In  the  well-known  Concord 
of  Wittenberg,  which,  about  the  same  period,  achieved 
a  final  reconciliation  of  the  differences  between  the 
Lutheran  and  Swiss  Protestants,  we  may  also  trace 
the  pattern  of  those  broad  and  comprehensive  state- 
ments of  the  cardinal  truths  of  Christianity  which  com- 
pose the  established  creed  of  the  Church  of  England : 
statements  as  admirable  for  their  lucid  and  precise 
expression  of  the  essential  points  of  faith,  as  for 
their  scrupulous  avoidance  of  all  immaterial  topics  of 
dispute. 

The  restoration  of  harmony  between  the  two  sec- 
tions of  the  Evangelical  community  was  hailed  by 
Luther  with  a  heartfelt  satisfaction.  Retaining  his 
peculiar  opinions  relative  to  the  bodily  admixture  of 
Christ  with  the  eucharist,  he  had  not  to  learn  that  uni- 
formity of  credence  among  a  multitude  of  men,  taught 
to  think  for  themselves,  was  neither  to  be  rationally 
expected,  nor  made  a  pretext  for  holding  back  that 
fraternal  charity  which  is  the  parent  of  the  genuine 
oneness  of  the  church.  The  fate  of  Zuinglius,  who, 
since  the  date  of  the  disputation  at  Marpurg,  had  fallen 
bravely  fighting  for  the  invaded  rights  of  judgment  in 
his  countrymen,  and  the  melancholy  death  of  CEco- 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  287 

lampadius,  whom  grief  for  the  loss  of  his  friend  had 
brought  to  a  premature  grave,  appear  to  have  deeply- 
touched  the  underflowing  tenderness  of  Luther's  nature. 
So  keenly,  indeed,  were  his  sympathies  aroused  by 
these  events,  that,  in  spite  of  his  former  and  emphatic 
protest  against  a  confederation  of  parties  who  disagreed 
upon  the  sacramental  question,  he  was  among  the  first 
to  approve  of  the  Protestant  towns  of  Switzerland 
being  included  in  the  second  and  more  powerful  alliance 
of  SmaLcalde. 

After  having  received  from  various  quarters  many 
smaller  accessions  of  force,  that  alliance  was  in  1538 
amply  strengthened  by  the  adhesion  of  Christian  III., 
king  of  Denmark.  At  the  junction  of  this  sovereign, 
in  a  compact  already  formidable,  both  from  the  number 
of  its  members  and  the  military  resources  which  some 
of  them  commanded,  the  Catholic  potentates  suddenly 
took  alarm.  Affecting  to  be  apprehensive  of  some  in- 
tended aggression  by  the  associated  Protestants,  the 
princes  of  Brunswick  and  Bavaria  united  with  Duke 
George  of  Saxony  in  effecting  a  new  combination, 
with  the  emperor  at  its  head,  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  ancient  religion  in  the  Germanic  estates.  Under 
the  name  of  the  Holy  Alliance,  this  counter-league 
was  concluded  at  Nuremberg,  within  six  months  after 
the  last  extension  of  the  Lutheran  treaty ;  and  thus 
were  laid  the  primitive  foundations  of  those  mutually 
hostile  arrayals  of  the  two  great  classes  of  religionists, 
which,  in  the  end,  gave  birth  to  struggles  apparently 
destined  to  terminate  only  in  the  dismemberment  of  the 
empire. 

Happily  for  that  portion  of  the  Saxon  province  which 
acknowledged  his  dominion,  the  following    year  saw 


288  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

the  duke  George — an  adversary  to  the  Reformation,  as 
pertinacious  and  remorseless  as  he  was  inconsistent- 
laid  in  the  tomb  of  his  fathers.  His  brother  Henry, 
who  inherited  the  ducal  crown,  was  a  being  of  different 
mould,  an  ardent  lover  both  of  the  reformed  doctrine 
and  its  advocates.  With  a  considerate  but  not  uncor- 
dial  energy,  he  proceeded,  as  rapidly  as  circumstances 
would  permit,  to  invert  the  entire  policy  of  the  pre- 
ceding reign ;  and  gradually  to  work  those  needful 
changes  in  the  religious  institutions  of  his  principality, 
which,  by  an  obstinate  and  perverse  bigotry  of  the  late 
sovereign,  he  had  been  deterred  from  using  any  effort 
to  accomplish,  though  avowedly  convinced  of  their 
necessity.  Not  content  with  a  mere  recognition  of 
the  Creed  of  Augsburg,  he  commenced  a  general  and 
keen  examination  into  the  instant  posture  of  the 
church ;  the  application  of  its  revenues  derived  from 
vested  property;  and  the  personal  emoluments  and 
moral  character  of  the  clergy.  By  suppressing  monas- 
teries, and  prohibiting  the  mendicancy  of  the  friars, 
as  well  as  by  filling  the  ranks  of  the  parochial  priest- 
hood with  pious  and  learned  pastors,  Henry,  before  the 
close  of  his  short  reign,  had  laid  the  groundwork  of 
those  broader  and  effectual  meliorations  which  that 
ablest  scion  of  the  ducal  house  of  Saxony,  his  son 
Maurice,  lived  to  outcarry  and  confirm.  By  the  decease 
of  the  prince  George,  the  Protestants  were  doubly 
gainers.  Not  only  was  the  adverse  confederacy  shorn 
of  its  most  vigorous  agent,  but  the  power  so  lost  to  the 
Papists  was,  with  all  the  increase  which  a  better  cause 
and  a  far  abler  organ  could  bestow,  transferred  to  the 
opposite  party.  The  archduke  Ferdinand,  enraged  at 
the  withdrawal  from  the  Romanist  interest  of  a  strength 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  289 

so  considerable  as  was  that  of  the  Saxon  dukedom, 
endeavoured  to  intimidate  the  lord  of  that  district 
from  pursuing  the  labour  of  ecclesiastical  purgation ; 
but,  though  far  advanced  in  years,  and  beginning  to 
bend  under  the  weight  of  physical  infirmity,  Henry 
retained  too  much  of  the  characteristic  intrepidity  of 
his  race  to  be  terrified  from  his  purpose  by  the  threats 
of  the  insolent  Austrian.  Regardless  of  those  menaces, 
he  proclaimed  a  solemn  festival  to  be  held  at  Leipsic, 
in  1539,  at  which,  in  the  presence  of  his  grand-nephew 
the  elector,  accompanied  by  the  principal  officers  of 
the  University  of  Wittenberg,  the  Evangelical  faith 
was  publicly  acknowledged  as  the  future  religion  of  the 
state.  At  this  great  national  sacrament,  which  finally 
established  the  unmixed  oracles  of  revealed  truth  as 
the  general  standard  of  devotion  and  belief  throughout 
the  whole  of  his  native  province,  Luther  himself  offi- 
ciated. He  whom  God  had  gifted  with  the  glorious 
distinction  of  unsealing  the  long-hidden  covenant  of 
human  redemption,  was  thus  additionally  honoured  to 
assist  in  the  consecration  of  a  sovereign  and  his  sub- 
jects to  that  King  of  kings,  and  Saviour  of  all  people, 
the  records  of  whose  mercy,  and  the  declarations  of 
whose  will,  he  had  been  the  first  to  restore  to  them. 

After  the  return  of  Verger  to  Rome,  the  Protestant 
leaders  had  received  notice  to  be  in  readiness  to  attend 
a  council,  to  be  convened  at  Mantua.  Preparations 
were  therefore  made  for  laying  before  the  assembled 
wisdom  of  the  church  a  full  exposition  of  the  theologi- 
cal convictions  of  the  reformers,  along  with  a  memo- 
rial imbodying  their  demands  for  a  reconstruction  of 
the  polity  and  ceremonial  of  the  pontifical  system,  and 
a  searching  purification  of  the  manners  of  the  ecclesi- 
13 


290  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

astical  body.  The  professed  intention  to  hold  such  a 
meeting  was,  however,  only  one  of  the  many  and  in- 
genious delusions  by  which  the  pope  sought  at  once  to 
amuse  the  German  purists,  and  to  ascertain  the  pro- 
bable amount  of  their  resolution  and  their  force.  The 
advisers  of  this  scheme  can  hardly  be  supposed  to  have 
anticipated  that  the  accused  parties  would  consent  to 
repair  to  the  very  centre  of  the  arch  accuser's  peculiar 
dominions,  there  to  take  their  trial  before  a  tribunal  com- 
posed of  his  own  creatures,  and  presided  over  by  him- 
self. The  electoral  confederates  of  Smalcalde  peremp- 
torily refused  to  entertain  the  thought  of  submitting  to 
so  indecent  an  outrage  on  all  forms  of  justice ;  and 
the  project,  consequently,  like  so  many  similar  ones, 
came  to  nothing.  The  only  effect  of  this  proposed 
convention,  was  the  compilation,  by  Luther,  of  another 
and  elaborate  series  of  articles,  comprising  a  more 
ample  vindication  than  had  yet  been  produced  of  the 
doctrinal  principles  of  the  Reformation,  and  an  equally 
full  catalogue  of  those  errors  and  corruptions  in  the 
Papacy  which  loudly  called  for  prompt  excision. 
These  articles,  which  are  composed  with  more  than 
ordinary  care,  have  since  been  enrolled  among  the 
standing  records  of  the  true  creed  of  the  Evangelical 
church  in  Germany. 

But  while  the  pontiff,  by  thus  fighting  off  the  long- 
expected  correction  of  ecclesiastic  abuses,  was  yearly 
widening  a  breach  which  had  already  become  incura- 
ble, the  position  of  the  empire,  imperilled  by  the  con- 
tinued predominance  of  the  Turkish  power  in  Hungary, 
and  the  ever-impending  mutinies  of  the  lower  orders 
at  home,  drove  the  emperor  to  make  another  effort  to 
accommodate  matters  between   the   German  Papists 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  291 

and  their  Lutheran  opponents.  For  that  purpose,  hav- 
ing first  appointed  a  preliminary  conference  to  take 
place  at  Spires,  he  ordered  the  controverted  points  to  be 
once  more  discussed,  by  certain  divines,  on  either  side, 
before  himself,  at  the  diet  which  was  again  about  to  sit 
at  Ratisbon.  When  that  diet  met,  some  hope  of  mutual 
conciliation  arose  from  the  introduction  of  an  anony- 
mous publication,  generally  called  the  "  First  Interim," 
which  assumed  to  assign  certain  practicable  grounds  of 
compromise.  But  this  expectation  soon  proved  itself 
to  be  abortive.  After  a  laborious  debate,  conducted 
mainly  by  Melancthon,  as  counsel  for  the  Protestants, 
and  the  Romanist  advocate  Eck,  the  impossibility  of 
softening  down  the  reciprocal  opposition  of  the  divided 
parties,  and  approximating  to  each  other  opinions  which 
so  radically  differed,  became  manifest.  Charles,  in 
despair,  abandoned  the  attempt,  and  referred  the  whole 
business  to  the  adjudication  of  some  future  diet,  or  of 
the  often-promised  but  still  distant  council. 

But  the  increasing  embarrassment  of  his  political 
relations,  rendered  still  more  urgent  by  the  recent  failure 
of  his  expedition  to  Africa,  and  the  danger  of  an  imme- 
diate renewal  of  hostilities  with  France,  compelled 
him,  in  the  year  1544,  again  to  bring  the  subject  of 
the  pending  spiritual  quarrel  under  the  considera- 
tion of  the  dietary  senate,  at  Spires.  By  this  time  a 
new  element  of  difficulty  was  likely  to  emerge  from  a 
sharp  difference  which  had  lately  obtained  between 
the  young  duke  Maurice  of  Saxony,  and  his  cousin  the 
elector.  The  former,  disapproving  of  the  policy  pur- 
sued by  the  combined  reformers,  withdrew  his  adhe- 
rence from  the  League  of  Smalcalde  :  and  it  seemed 
not   improbable   that   the  vehement  irritation   of  his 


292  LIFE   OF   MARTIN    LUTHER. 

princely  relative  would  be  productive  of  an  open  rup- 
ture between  them.  By  the  intervention  of  the  land- 
grave of  Hesse,  such  extremities,  however,  were 
fortunately  averted ;  and  the  emperor  saw  himself  re- 
luctantly obliged  to  purchase  the  assistance  of  the  great 
Protestant  vassals,  by  granting  to  them  the  benefit  of 
an  absolute  toleration  and  indemnity  until  either  a  gene- 
ral or  provincial  council  should  actually  be  convoked. 
It  was  then  agreed,  that  at  the  reassembling  of  the  diet, 
at  Worms,  in  the  commencement  of  the  succeeding 
year,  each  of  the  dissentient  bodies  should  submit  a 
general  project  for  the  reorganization  of  the  imperial 
church.  But  before  that  time  arrived,  Paul  III.,  start- 
led at  the  near  prospect  of  a  measure  which,  invading 
his  dearest  prerogative,  would  have  taken  the  whole 
affair  out  of  his  hands,  issued  his  circular  letters  com- 
manding the  grand  congregation  of  the  Papal  hierarchy, 
to  be  held  at  Trent.  Of  this  decisive  proceeding,  the 
king  of  the  Romans  availed  himself,  as  a  ground  for 
recommending,  in  the  name  of  his  brother,  that  the 
question  should  be  referred  to  the  more  appropriate 
tribunal  which  was  about  to  be  convened.  That  sug- 
gestion the  Protestants,  however,  prudently  rejected  ; 
not  without  some  severe  reclamations  on  the  score  of 
the  emperor's  faithlessness  in  seeking  to  evade  the 
execution  of  a  plan  which,  more  than  any  other  ar- 
rangement hitherto  projected,  promised  to  yield  general 
satisfaction,  and  effectual  redress.  In  truth,  Charles 
had  no  other  intention  than  indefinitely  to  stave  off  the 
Augaean  task  of  purging  the  national  church,  until  he 
should  be  in  a  condition,  backed  by  the  decisions  of 
the  coming  council,  to  disarm  the  Evangelical  confede- 
racy, and  put  to  flight  the  dream  of  a  thorough  ecclesi- 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  293 

astical  renovation.  It  is  even  said,  that  in  an  interview 
with  the  cardinal-legate  Farnese,  he  announced  his 
resolution  shortly  to  take  arms  against  the  Lutherans  : 
but  that  he  had  then  absolutely  made  up  his  mind  to 
venture  on  so  critical  a  step  is  extremely  doubtful.  By 
way  of  amusing  the  reformers,  while,  in  effect,  he 
merely  contrived  to  hold  their  too  SUnguine  expecta- 
tions in  abeyance,  he  directed  another  of  those  useless 
conferences,  of  which  too  many  had  already  occurred, 
to  be  holden  at  Ratisbon,  in  the  month  of  January, 
1546.  The  contending  theologians  again  came  to- 
gether, and  prolonged  their  unproductive  disputations 
till  the  middle  of  the  following  March;  when  they 
once  more  separated,  hopeless  of  any  future  possibility 
of  mutual  agreement. 

During  these  more  public  events,  Luther  himself 
was  busily  engaged  in  his  usual  employments.  The 
only  relaxation  he  allowed  himself  was  that  which  the 
bosom  of  his  own  family  afforded  him,  in  the  exercise 
and  expression  of  those  domestic  affections  which  in 
him  only  glowed  less  ardently  than  his  zeal  for  the 
continued  triumphs  of  divine  truth,  and  the  con- 
tinued and  well-guarded  prosperity  of  the  cause  of 
God.  His  own  religious  opinions  had  long  ago  be- 
come clear,  systematic,  consistent,  and  fixed ;  and  his 
great  work  now  was  to  defend  what  he  had  embraced, 
and  to  establish  and  enforce  the  practical  conclusions 
which  opened  before  his  own  devoted  spirit.  The 
more  he  studied  Holy  Scripture,  the  stronger  did  his 
conviction  become  of  the  vast  importance  of  truth. 
Thus,  in  1534,  he  writes  :  "  Because  the  Papists  have 
the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  and  the  seat  of 
office,  therefore  do  they  claim  to  be  the  church  of  God 


294  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

This  is  their  strongest  argument  against  us,  by  which 
they  think  we  are  to  be  completely  overwhelmed. 
*  Can  you  reckon  yourselves  to  be  the  church,'  say 
they,  '  you  who  are  so  few  and  small ;  while  we  are 
so  many,  and  so  great,  and  are  placed  in  the  chair 
of  office  V  We  simply  reply,  '  If  ye  be  ever  so  many, 
ever  so  great,  if  ye  believe  not  in  Christ,  if  ye  confide 
not  in  his  righteousness,  we  care  nothing.  Ye  are  not 
the  church  because  ye  have  the  office  of  the  church ; 
for  it  is  written  that  even  in  the  holy  place  the  abomina- 
tion of  desolation  may  stand,  and  that  antichrist  shall 
have  his  seat  in  the  temple  of  God.  Therefore  is  the 
church  to  be  shown  from  its  faith  in  Christ,  and  not 
from  its  offices,  or  its  multitude.  This  is  the  true 
touchstone,  this  the  undeniably  certain  rule." 

He  saw,  too,  as  clearly  as  ever,  that  the  grand  argu- 
ment against  the  Papacy  was  that  which  was  derived 
from  our  free  justification  before  God,  for  the  alone 
merits  of  Christ,  and  by  faith  in  his  name.  "  By  this 
one  argument,"  he  writes  in  the  same  year,  "  we  over- 
turn the  Papacy.  If  Christ  was  wounded  for  our 
offences,  then  is  the  pope  antichrist;  for  he  teaches 
that  we  must,  by  various  methods  of  satisfaction,  make 
expiation  for  our  sins." 

Nor  did  he  lose  sight  of  the  sanctifying  tendency  of 
divine  truth.  The  enemies  of  the  Reformation  accused 
him  of  being  a  disturber  of  the  public  peace  ;  but  his 
indignant  reply  was,  "  At  this  day  we  are  the  conser- 
vators of  kingdoms,  republics,  laws,  and  whatsoever 
good  things  are  constituted  by  God.  We  who  teach 
the  word  of  God,  retain  and  uphold  them  all.  There 
are  none  who  so  adorn  the  magistracy,  or  domestic 
life,  as  we  do.     This  our  very  opponents  see,  and  are 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  295 

compelled  to  acknowledge.     And  yet  they  call  us  dis- 
turbers, forsooth !" 

Perhaps  his  greatest  trial  was  one  to  which,  sooner 
or  later,  all  are  exposed  who  are  the  honoured  instru- 
ments of  reviving  religion  by  the  faithful  ministration 
of  Scriptural  truth,  and  especially  of  such  truth  as, 
notwithstanding  its  importance,  has  fallen  into  neglect, 
and  even  contemptuous  denial.  Such  faithful  minis- 
trations will  not  be  ineffectual.  When  the  good  seed 
is  sown,  good  fruit  will  be  produced.  But  there  is  an 
enemy  who,  when  his  plans  of  casting  the  truth  into 
oblivion  are  broken  up,  will  seek  to  bring  it  into  dis- 
repute by  sowing  his  tares  with  the  wheat.  In  some 
instances  the  truth  will  be  embraced,  so  far  as  intel- 
lectual acknowledgment  is  concerned,  but  the  heart 
will  remain  as  worldly  as  ever,  and  the  fruits  of  a 
worldly  temper  will  be  as  plentiful  as  ever  in  the  life  : 
these  fruits  will  be  triumphantly  exhibited  by  the  oppo- 
nents of  reviving  religion  as  the  natural  results  of  the 
preaching  which  they  condemn.  Nor  is  this  the 
worst  of  the  case.  Enthusiasts  and  impostors  will 
spring  up,  by  whom  the  truth  will  be  perverted  ;  it  may 
be,  most  outrageously  perverted  ;  and  then  these  tares 
— for  such  they  are,  tares  of  the  devil's  own  sowing — 
will  be  seized  on  with  avidity,  and  shown  with  even  dia- 
bolical exultation  as  specimens  of  the  entire  system, 
which  is  to  be  judged  accordingly.  Ignorant  men, 
weak  in  judgment,  strong  in  passion,  in  every  revival 
of  religion,  have  appeared,  disturbing  and  perverting 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  eventually  forming  out 
of  them  a  system  in  which  corrupt  nature  luxuriates  ; 
and  some  plot  in  the  garden  of  the  Lord  is  not  only 
overspread  with  mildew  and  blight,  but  the  place  of 


296  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

the  fruits  of  righteousness  is  supplied,  with  fearful  ra- 
pidity and  disgusting  rankness,  with  the  "  fruits  of  the 
flesh,"  often  in  their  very  worst  form.  Such  there 
w  ere  in  the  churches  under  apostolic  superintendence  ; 
and  such  had  already  afforded  unholy  exultation  to  the 
opponents  of  the  infant  Reformation.  In  the  years 
1533,  1534,  and  1535,  a  more  violent  outbreak  than 
ever  filled  the  minds  of  Luther  and  his  friends  with 
grief,  and  gave  to  his  enemies  a  plausible  occasion  of 
triumph  of  which  they  were  not  slow  to  avail  them- 
selves. 

The  conduct  and  fate  of  Thomas  Munzer  in  1525 
have  been  already  noticed.  But  though  the  mischiefs 
of  which  he  was  the  ostensible  occasion  were  check- 
ed, they  still  continued  to  exist.  The  scattered  adhe- 
rents of  Munzer  retired  to  various  parts  of  Germany 
and  Switzerland,  and,  though  more  covertly,  scarcely 
less  zealously,  endeavoured  to  spread  their  opinions, 
and  to  gain  disciples.  Many  were,  no  doubt,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  sincere  ;  but  their  principles  were  not 
the  less  mistaken,  nor  the  tendency  of  their  conduct 
less  injurious.  The  Romanists  have  cast  the  blame 
of  all  their  mistakes  and  excesses  on  the  preaching  of 
Luther.  The  very  opposite  statement  would  be  the 
more  correct.  The  preaching  of  Luther  might  be  the 
proximate  occasion  of  the  outbreak  of  the  evil;  the 
cause  of  the  evil  itself  is  to  be  sought  elsewhere. 

The  German  peasants  had  been  kept  by  their  Italian 
ecclesiastical  superiors  in  a  state  of  the  most  deplorable 
and  debasing  ignorance.  Not  permitted  to  reason  on 
religion,  all  was  to  be  received  with  the  most  implicit 
faith ;  and  their  ignorance  was  regarded,  not  perhaps 
as  the  author,  but  as  the  best  nurse,  of  their  devotion. 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  297 

And  then  these  ignorant  men  were  still  men  ;  men 
with  all  the  mental  and  corporeal  activities  of  human 
nature  ;  men  who  were  not  only  not  exempt  from  the 
ordinary  corruption  of  human  nature,  but  in  whom  that 
very  corruption  had  been  allowed  to  grow  up  without 
the  restraining  influence  of  those  real  remedies  which 
are  provided  in  the  gospel,  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation to  every  one  that  believeth. 

Nor  must  the  fact  be  overlooked,  that  the  Scriptures 
do  most  distinctly  declare  that  Satan  has  a  cause  and 
kingdom  in  this  world.  Unhappily,  a  proud  philosophy, 
chiefly  fostered  in  these  latter  days  by  Socinian  errors, 
has  chosen  to  set  itself  against  the  admission  of  the 
fact,  and  to  treat  all  allusions  to  it  with  a  ridicule  which 
shows  that  though  they  may  not  actually  sit  in  the  chair 
of  the  scorner  themselves,  they  have  learned  to  em- 
ploy, and  to  take  pleasure  and  pride  in  employing,  the 
phrases  of  its  occupants.  But  be  their  ridicule  as  keen 
as  they  choose  to  make  it,  to  the  believer  in  divine 
revelation  it  is  plain  that  Satan  has  a  cause  opposed  to 
the  kingdom  of  Christ ;  and  that  he  is,  with  a  cease- 
less and  subtle  activity,  so  resolutely  engaged  in  pro- 
moting it,  that  the  employment  of  warlike  terms  is  not 
only  allowable,  but  even  necessary,  as  furnishing  the 
closest  analogies  for  the  adumbration  of  the  confessedly 
mysterious  subject.  When,  therefore,  the  beloved  dis- 
ciple had  the  visions  of  the  future  opened  to  his  view, 
part  of  his  description  is  given  in  the  remarkable  sen- 
tence, which,  however  (and  unavoidably)  obscure  as 
to  its  particular  application,  is  yet  perfectly  intelligible 
in  its  general  significance,  "  And  there  was  war  in 

HEAVEN." 

In  perfect  accordance  with  such  analogies  as  are 
13* 


298  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

thus  suggested,  are  the  terms  employed  in  Scripture, 
which  call  on  us,  for  instance,  to  put  on  the  whole 
armour  of  God,  that  we  may  not  only  resist  the  devil, 
but  overcome  those  malignant  and  subtle  methods  by 
which  he  seeks  to  circumvent  us,  and  so  to  accomplish 
our  ruin.  And  there  is  a  well-known  parable  which 
represents  the  upspringing  of  the  tares,  the  children 
of  the  wicked  one,  as  following  hard  upon  that  of  the 
wheat,  the  children  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  which  repre- 
sents this  as  the  work  of  the  enemy.  A  revival  of 
religion,  therefore,  may  always  look  to  be  rapidly  fol- 
lowed by  a  crop  of  tares. 

Thus  was  it  in  Germany  at  the  time  the  leading 
events  of  which  are  now  to  be  described  and  explained. 
A  chapter  of  ecclesiastical  history  is  here  opened 
which  ought  always  to  present  the  facts  in  connection 
with  the  principles  of  which  they  were  the  develop- 
ment, and  with  the  important  lessons  which  they  teach. 

When  Luther  began  to  preach  as  the  truth  is  in 
Jesus,  his  doctrines  were  largely  received  in  such  love 
and  obedience  as  soon  exhibited  their  proper  nature 
and  character.  But  there  were  those  who  perverted 
and  corrupted  what  they  had  heard,  and  who  thus 
became  the  ready  instruments  of  Satan  for  bringing 
reproach  on  the  cause  of  reviving  truth,  and  thus  far 
impeding,  if  not  altogether  preventing,  its  progress. 

In  the  earliest  days  of  the  Christian  church,  it  is 
most  evident,  from  the  Epistles,  that  the  two  grand 
subjects,  the  perversion  of  which  occasioned  so  much 
mischief,  even  when  apostolic  superintendence  was 
exercised,  were  those  of  Christian  liberty  and  divine 
inspiration.  Ignorant  and  unregenerate  men  not  re- 
ceiving the  truth  in  that  humble  submissiveness  which, 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  299 

issuing  in  repentance  toward  God  and  faith  toward  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  would  have  led  to  the  spiritual 
sanctiflcation  of  their  hearts  and  lives,  received  it  for 
the  purpose  of  gratifying  their  own  pride,  and  their 
love  of  disputation,  display,  and  fancied  superiority. 
Indeed,  they  rather  received  the  phrases  intended  to 
make  known  the  truth,  than  the  truth  itself ;  and  these 
they  soon  explained  according  to  the  unsubdued  cor- 
ruption of  their  nature,  so  as  to  render  that  corruption 
far  more  active  and  prolific  than  before.  Hearing  the 
words  "liberty"  and  "freedom"  they  explained  them 
to  mean  the  right  of  doing  as  they  pleased,  and  espe- 
cially of  casting  away  the  fetters,  as  they  would  term 
them,  of  their  civil  and  ecclesiastical  leaders  :  and 
hearing  of  the  "  inspiration  of  the  Spirit"  they  would 
refer  to  it  all  the  thoughts  and  desires  and  purposes  of 
their  own  minds  when  in  a  state  of  passionate  excite- 
ment. Had  we  the  minute  details  of  the  early  history 
of  the  churches  as  implied,  necessarily  implied,  in  the 
epistolary  statements  of  the  New  Testament,  even  the 
atrocities  of  the  Munster  Anabaptists  would  furnish  no 
exception  to  the  maxim  of  Solomon,  "  There  is  nothing 
new  under  the  sun." 

The  occasions  of  these  outbreaks  of  evil  have  already 
been  indicated.  They  were  the  same  which  the  enemy 
had  employed  in  the  days  of  the  apostles.  Luther 
preached  on  Christian  liberty  and  divine  inspiration, 
and  there  were  men  of  ignorant  minds,  but  of  strong 
and  easily-excited  passions,  who  perveted  these  sub- 
jects, as  had  been  done  by  those  of  whom  Peter,  and 
Jude,  and  our  Lord,  in  his  addresses  to  the  Asiatic 
churches,  complained.  The  followers  of  Munzer  easily 
found  disciples  among  the  ignorant  peasantry  who  sur- 


300  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

rounded  them ;  and  when  the  progress  of  time  had 
allowed  the  doctrines  to  take  root,  and  become  mature 
and  fruitful,  then  did  they  quit  their  secrecy,  and 
astonish  and  terrify  society  at  large  by  the  atrocious 
and  daring  conduct  in  which  they  indulged. 

At  Munster  they  had  succeeded  in  gaining  so  many 
proselytes,  that  they  now  began  to  think  of  giving  to 
their  system  a  regular  form  of  government.  As  yet 
they  had  not  avowed  their  most  dangerous  doctrines, 
and  therefore,  for  a  time,  even  the  senate  and  magis- 
tracy of  the  city  were  carried  away  by  the  torrent ; 
and  the  opposing  Catholic  party  were  obliged  to  sub- 
mit to  a  compromise  by  which  a  certain  number  of 
churches  were  given  up  to  these  sectaries.  The  peace 
that  was  thus  restored  was,  however,  as  brief  as  it  was 
unsound.  Opportunity  was  given  them  for  that  self- 
indulgence  which  rapidly  unfolded  the  real  character 
of  their  principles  ;  and  that  which  might  have  been 
anticipated  speedily  took  place.  A  man,  not  less  igno- 
rant than  the  rest,  but  more  cunning ;  equally  enthu- 
siastic, and  more  perfectly  free  from  all  the  restraints 
of  humility  and  modesty  ;  possessing  violent  passions, 
and  concentrating  all  those  passions  so  entirely  on 
himself  as  to  have  no  feeling  of  which  self  was  not  the 
object ;  in  whom  a  vulgar  and  most  perfectly-developed 
impudence  supplied  the  place  of  courage,  and  some- 
times even  aped  the  appearances  of  magnanimity ; — 
such  a  man  soon  came  forward ;  and  that  he  might 
himself  assume  the  reins,  and  hold  them  with  an  iron 
hand,  he  began  by  promising  a  greater  degree  of  liberty, 
and  stimulating  his  followers  to  seize  upon  it.  This 
man  was  the  celebrated  John  of  Leyden,  a  tailor, 
utterly  uneducated,  and  who  had  heard  the  truths  of 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  301 

the  gospel  only  to  misunderstand  and  pervert  them. 
Claiming  a  high  degree  of  inspiration,  he  asserted  the 
necessity  of  rebaptizing  all  who  would  obtain  salvation, 
and  made  these  assertions  so  as  to  excite  the  easily- 
moved  minds  of  his  disciples,  who  ran  about  the  streets 
warning  every  one  who  would  escape  destruction  to 
save  himself  by  being  baptized.* 

The  next  movement  was  one  of  violence.  That  full 
liberty  might  be  enjoyed,  the  Anabaptists  attacked  the 
other  inhabitants  of  the  city,  of  which  they  soon  ob- 
tained the  possession.  And  now  commenced  the  reign 
of  the  wildest  fanaticism.  John  of  Leyden  had  him- 
self proclaimed  king  of  all  the  earth,  and  sent  forth 
emissaries  to  proclaim  his  dominion.  He  next  abro- 
gated the  laws  of  marriage,  pretending  a  revelation 
from  heaven  on  the  subject ;  and  of  his  own  teaching 
he  immediately  furnished  the  example,  by  marrying 
three  wives.  Further  description  is  needless.  Fero- 
city, licentiousness,  and  a  daring  impiety,  under  the 
garb  of  religion,  domineered  for  months  over  this  un- 
happy city. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  princes  of  Germany  were  not 
idle.  The  bishop  of  Munster,  its  temporal  sovereign, 
had  been  expelled  at  an  early  stage  of  these  dreadful 
proceedings.  By  him,  aided  by  his  brother  rulers,  the 
place  was  besieged  ;  and  though  defended  with  great  ob- 
stinacy, the  fanatical  monarch  giving  promise  after  pro- 
mise of  ultimate  success,  and  thus  animating  his  vassals 
by  a  religious  enthusiasm,  always  burning  furiously,  and 
on  which  fresh  supplies  of  inflammatory  material  were 
continually  poured,  yet  the  perseverance  of  the  be- 

*  Hence  their  name  of  Anabaptists.  They  are  not  to  be  con- 
founded  in  any  degree  with  the  modern  Baptists. 


302  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

siegers  at  length  prevailed.  Even  enthusiasm  began 
to  give  way  when  the  horrors  of  famine  were  expe- 
rienced ;  and  the  deluded  multitude,  sinking  in  death, 
unable,  through  physical  weakness,  to  sustain  the  fury 
of  their  former  enthusiasm,  awoke  from  their  dream, 
and  saw  themselves  the  victims  of  a  vile  and  diabolical 
hypocrisy.  John  himself,  however,  securing  supplies 
in  his  own  palace,  and  knowing  well  the  fate  that 
awaited  him  should  the  city  be  taken,  exerted  his  ut- 
most vigilance  ;  stimulating  the  dying  embers  of  enthu- 
siasm, and  using  the  power  which  had  been  given  him 
as  the  depositary  of  the  liberty  of  all  his  followers,  so 
as  to  keep  down  the  stirrings  of  discontent.  It  was 
the  reign  of  terror.  One  of  his  queens,  having  ex- 
pressed her  sympathy  with  the  suffering  inhabitants, 
and  doubted  whether  the  luxuries  of  life  should  be 
enjoyed  in  the  palace  while  the  inhabitants  were  dying 
of  hunger  in  the  streets,  was  summoned  before  him, 
and  her  head  was  immediately  struck  from  her  shoul- 
ders. And  thus  were  the  genuine  fruits  of  the  self- 
willed  enthusiasm  of  ignorance,  passion,  and  pride, 
now  fully  disclosed  in  disorder  and  sensuality,  in 
tyranny  and  blood.  The  city,  however  obstinately 
defended,  was  taken  by  storm  on  the  25th  of  June, 
1535.  John  of  Leyden  fell  alive  into  the  hands  of  his 
captors  ;  and,  according  to  the  dreadful  custom  of  the 
age,  he  was  put  to  death  by  the  most  horrible  forms  of 
punishment.  After  other  inflictions,  the  executioners 
tore  his  flesh  piecemeal  from  his  living  body  with  red- 
hot  pincers. 

The  period  during  which  these  excesses  were  com- 
mitted in  Munster  was  an  exceedingly  anxious  one  to 
Luther.     Well  did  he  know  that  his  always  watchful 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  303 

adversaries  would  ascribe  all  these  evils  to  his  preach- 
ing. When  the  attack  came,  he  was  therefore  prepared 
for  it;  and,  as  usual,  stood  boldly  on  his  defence. 
Good-humouredly  complaining  of  his  unhappiness, 
that  he  could  fully  satisfy  no  one,  he  says,  that  the 
Papists  regarded  him  as  the  very  head  of  all  the 
fanatics  ;  while  the  fanatics  proclaimed  him  to  be  no 
better  than  another  pope.  In  one  brief  paragraph  he 
places  the  question  in  its  proper  light,  and  disposes  of 
it  with  a  power  which  none  could  resist  who  were 
honest  like  himself.  " '  Behold,'  say  they,  '  what  fine 
things  come  out  of  this  Lutheranism !'  But  they  prove 
nothing  by  all  their  smart  sayings.  Did  not  the  devils 
themselves  proceed  out  of  the  society  of  holy  angels, 
whom  God  created  good  1  Sinners  and  sin  have  pro- 
ceeded from  Adam  and  Eve,  who,  before  their  fall, 
were  truly  to  be  reckoned  good.  Did  not  Judas  go 
forth  from  among  the  disciples  ?  And  has  not  John 
said,  '  They  went  out  from  us,  but  they  were  not  of 
us  f  Most  manifest  it  is  that  heretics  grow  up  among 
Christians,  from  whom  they  depart,  and  not  among 
Gentiles  and  heathen  people.  And  does  not  the  Church 
of  Rome  claim  to  be  considered  as  holy,  though  we 
Lutherans,  whom  she  so  heartily  condemns,  went  out 
from  her  fellowship  1  Why,  then,  should  there  not  be 
the  same  law  for  us  as  for  her  ?  And  why  should  we 
not  be  reckoned,  at  all  events,  harmless,  even  though 
these  Anabaptists  went  forth  from  among  us  ?" 

But  while  he  thus  met  the  objections  of  the  Papists, 
he  was  careful  to  give  full  publicity  to  his  opinion 
of  the  Munster  fanatics,  and  their  proceedings.  "  Lu- 
ther," says  Sleidan,  "  among  other  things  which  he 
set  forth  in  the  vulgar  tongue  about  this  time,  wrote 


304  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

also  of  this  tragedy  of  Minister :  '  Albeit  that  for  the 
contempt  of  the  gospel,  the  reproach  of  God's  holy- 
name,  and  the  shedding  of  innocent  blood,  Germany 
hath  justly  deserved  to  be  plagued,  yet  hath  God  hitherto 
restrained  the  force  and  violence  of  Satan,  and  hath 
not  permitted  him  to  have  the  reins  at  liberty,  but  he 
mercifully  admonisheth  us,  and  by  this  tragedy  of 
Munster,  nothing  at  all  artificial,  calleth  us  to  amend- 
ment of  life.  For  unless  God  had  bridled  him  and 
holden  him  back,  I  doubt  not  but  that  that  most  subtle 
fiend,  and  wily  artificer,  would  have  handled  the 
matter  far  otherwise.  But  now  that  God  hath  made 
a  restraint,  he  rageth  and  turmoileth,  not  so  much  as 
he  would,  but  so  much  as  he  is  permitted.  For  the 
wicked  spirit,  that  seeketh  the  subversion  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  goeth  not  this  way  to  work,  to  persuade  to 
the  marriage  of  many  wives.  For  seeing  both  the  un- 
lawfulness and  the  filthy  beastliness  of  the  thing,  he 
perceiveth  well  enough  that  men  would  abhor  it.  In- 
deed, civil  policy  and  government  may  be  through  this 
means  disturbed ;  but  the  kingdom  of  Christ  must  be 
attempted  through  other  means  and  engines.  He  that 
would  circumvent  and  deceive  men,  may  not  affect  rule 
and  government,  and  play  the  tyrant ;  for  all  men  dis- 
avow this,  and  see  plainly  what  his  intent  is.  He 
must  attain  thereto  by  secret  means,  and,  as  it  were, 
by  certain  by-paths.  To  go  in  old  and  ill-favoured 
apparel,  to  look  with  a  grave  countenance,  to  hang 
down  the  head  toward  the  ground,  to  fast,  to  handle  no 
money,  to  abstain  from  eating  flesh,  to  abhor  matri- 
mony, to  eschew  bearing  office  as  a  profane  thing,  to 
refuse  government,  and  to  profess  a  wonderful  lowli- 
ness of  mind,  this,  I  say,  is  the  ready  way  and  means 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  305 

to  deceive  even  them  that  are  right  wise.  But  it  is 
overmuch  impudence  for  a  man  to  take  upon  himself 
to  be  a  king,  and  for  his  fleshly  lust  to  marry  as  many 
wives  as  he  fancieth :  this,  sure,  is  not  the  policy  of 
any  skilful  devil,  but  of  one  that  is  rude  and  ignorant 
or,  if  he  be  expert,  then  God  hath  bound  him  so  in  a 
chain,  that  he  cannot  work  more  craftily.  Wherefore, 
there  is  no  great  fear  of  this  so  ungodly  a  devil.  1 
would  to  God  that  in  the  whole  world  there  were  no 
craftier  devil  than  this  of  Munster.  So  that  God  would 
not  take  his  word  from  us,  I  believe  there  are  but  few 
that  would  give  any  credit  to  so  gross  and  so  drunken 
a  master.  And  yet,  surely,  when  God's  wrath  is  kin- 
dled, there  is  no  error  so  absurd  or  unsavoury  to  which 
the  devil  cannot  persuade,  as  we  see  happened  in  the 
doctrine  of  Mohammed  ;  for,  albeit,  it  is  altogether 
foolish,  yet  the  light  of  God's  word  being  quenched,  it 
took  force  and  strength,  and  is  spread  abroad  in  such 
ample  manner  as  you  see.  Satan  can  raise  up  a  great 
flame,  through  God's  permission,  of  a  very  small  spark: 
neither  is  there  any  better  way  to  quench  the  fire,  than 
by  the  word  of  God.  But  our  princes  and  bishops  go 
the  contrary  way  to  work  ;  for  they  hinder  the  doctrine 
of  the  gospel,  by  which  only  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
men  can  be  healed  ;  and  in  the  mean  time,  they  exer- 
cise cruel  punishment  to  bring  the  body  from  the  devil, 
while  they  leave  him  the  better  part  of  man,  which  is 
the  heart  and  the  soul :  which  thing  shall  have  like 
success  with  them  as  it  had  with  the  Jews  in  times 
past,  who  thought  to  quench  Christ  by  his  cross  and 
passion.' " 

Calm,  logical  argument  was  not  the  way  by  which 
Luther  sought  to  put  down  such  barefaced  wickedness 


306  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

With  honest  inquirers  after  truth,  whatever  their  errors 
may  be,  patient  and  affectionate  instruction  must  be 
employed  ;  but  the  blasphemous  iniquities  of  the  Mun- 
ster  king  of  the  world,  as  he  styled  himself,  who,  while 
the  people  were  perishing  with  famine,  "  had  his  store- 
houses furnished  at  home,  not  only  for  necessity,  but 
also  for  riot  and  voluptuousness  ;"  and  who,  when  one 
of  his  "queens"  expressed  her  pity  for  the  sufferings 
which  she  could  not  but  see,  though  she  was  not  per- 
mitted to  relieve  them,  had  her  into  the  market-place, 
and  publicly  "  stroke  off  her  head," — iniquities  of  this 
sort  are  to  be  boldly  and  unsparingly  exposed.  And 
thus  Luther  went  to  work  with  them.  He  wrote  for 
the  common  people  ;  and  such  addresses  as  these  could 
not  fail  of  impressing  their  readers.*  "  In  case*  every- 
thing ought  to  be  despised  and  cast  away  that  wicked 
men  give  or  have,  I  marvel  surely  why  they  do  not  as 
well  contemn  gold,  silver,  and  other  riches,  taken  from 
the  wicked,  and  invent  some  new  metal,  or  other  de- 
vice." "  If  the  marriages  of  this  former  time  were  to 
be  accounted  for  whoredom  and  adultery,  because  they 
were  contracted,  as  they  say,  of  such  as  wanted  faith, 
I  pray  you  do  not  they  grant  themselves  to  be  whore- 
sonnes,  all  the  pack  of  them  ?  Now  if  they  be  bastards 
and  misbegotten,  tell  me,  why  do  they  enjoy  the  lands 
and  patrimony  of  the  city  and  of  their  ancestors  ?    Rea- 

*  The  nervous  English  of  the  first  translation,  published  only- 
five  years  after  Sleidan's  original  work,  and  some  five  and  twenty- 
after  these  Munster  enormities,  is  here  quoted.  Munster  was 
taken  in  1535.  Sleidan's  Latin  "  Commentaries"  were  published 
in  1555;  and  John  Daus  had  his  translation  printed  in  1560; 
dedicating  his  book  to  "  his  singular  good  lord,  Francis,  earl  of 
Bedford,  Lord  Russell,"  &r 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  307 

son  would  that  this  their  new  kind  of  matrimony  should 
provide  them  new  possessions  and  riches,  which  might 
have  a  more  honest  title.  For  it  is  not  seemly  that  so 
holy  and  godly  a  people  as  they  do  pretend  to  be, 
should  live  of  the  unlawful  and  bastardly  goods  of  har- 
lots ;  much  less  take  them  from  others  by  violence  and 
plain  robbery." 

It  was  about  this  time  that  those  expository  lectures 
on  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  which  are  best  known 
in  England,  and  which  had  been  taken  dowrn  by  cer- 
tain of  his  hearers,  were  retouched  and  published  by 
himself.  What  are  properly  his  "  Commentaries  "  on 
the  epistle,  had  been  published  before  ;  but  as  this  was 
with  him  a  favourite  portion  of  God's  word,  he  delivered 
a  series  of  popular  lectures  upon  it ;  and  these,  which 
appear  to  have  been  spoken  extemporaneously,  and 
were,  "by  great  diligence  of  the  brethren,  gathered 
together,"  constitute  what  is  usually  (though  not  with 
strict  propriety)  styled,  "  A  Commentary  of  Master 
Doctor  Martin  Luther  upon  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to 
the  Galatians."  He  wrote  a  preface  for  the  volume, 
in  which  he  refers  both  to  Anabaptists  and  Romanists  ; 
traces  their  errors  to  the  malice  and  subtlety  of  Satan  ; 
and  shows  the  only  remedy  to  be  the  faithful  enuncia- 
tion of  the  truth  of  the  gospel.  He  says,  "  The  con- 
clusion and  end  is,  to  hope  for  no  quietness  or  end  of 
complaint,  so  long  as  Christ  and  Belial  do  not  agree. 
If  one  heresy  die,  by  and  by  another  springeth  up  ;  for 
the  devil  doth  neither  slumber  nor  sleep.  I  myself, 
which  (though  I  be  nothing)  have  been  now  in  the 
ministry  about  twenty  years,  can  truly  witness  that  1 
have  been  assailed  by  more  than  twenty  sects,  of  which 
some  are  already  destroyed ;  other  some,  as  the  parts 


308  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

and  members  of  worms  or  bees  that  are  cut  in  sunder, 
do  yet  pant  for  life.  But  Satan,  the  god  of  all  dissen- 
sion, stirreth  up  daily  new  sects  ;  and,  last  of  all,  which 
of  all  other  I  should  never  have  foreseen  nor  suspected, 
he  hath  raised  up  a  sect  of  such  as  teach  that  the  ten 
commandments  ought  to  be  taken  out  of  the  church, 
and  that  men  should  not  be  terrified  by  the  law,  but 
gently  exhorted  by  the  preaching  of  the  grace  of  Christ. 
As  though  we  were  ignorant,  or  had  never  taught,  that 
afflicted  and  broken  spirits  must  be  comforted  by  Christ ; 
but  that  the  hard-hearted  Pharisee,  unto  whom  the 
grace  of  God  is  preached  in  vain,  must  be  terrified  by 
the  law.  And  they  themselves  also  are  forced  to  de- 
vise and  imagine  certain  revelations  of  God's  wrath 
against  unbelievers  ;  as  though  the  law  could  be  any- 
thing else  but  a  revealing  of  God's  wrath  against  im- 
piety. But  let  the  minister  of  Christ  know  that  so 
long  as  he  teacheth  Christ  purely,  there  shall  not  be 
wanting  perverse  spirits,  yea,  even  among  ourselves, 
which  shall  seek,  by  all  means  possible,  to  trouble  the 
church  of  Christ.  And  herewithal  let  him  comfort 
himself,  that  there  is  no  peace  between  Christ  and 
Belial,  or  between  the  seed  of  the  serpent  and  the 
seed  of  the  woman.  Yea,  let  him  even  rejoice  in  the 
troubles  which  he  suffereth  by  these  seditious  spirits  ; 
for  this  is  our  rejoicing,  even  the  testimony  of  our 
conscience,  that  we  be  found  standing  and  fighting  in 
the  behalf  of  the  seed  of  the  woman,  against  the  seed 
of  the  serpent.  Let  him  bite  us  by  the  heel,  and  spare 
not ;  we  again  icill  not  cease  to  crush  his  head,  by  the 
grace  and  help  of  Christ,  the  principal  bruiser  thereof, 
who  is  blessed  for  ever." 

During  the  remainder  of  his  life  Luther  continued 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  309 

to  occupy  himself  in  study  and  labour  as  diligently  as 
at  any  former  period.  Placed  by  divine  Providence  at 
the  head  of  the  Reformation,  in  cases  of  difficulty  all 
eyes  were  turned  to  him.  Respected  for  his  unwaver- 
ing piety,  and  beloved  for  the  tenderness  and  affection 
which  he  manifested,  the  most  decided  confidence  was 
likewise  reposed  in  him  for  the  wisdom  which  guided 
the  utterance  of  his  opinions,  and  for  the  undeniable 
integrity  which  he  maintained,  as  well  in  his  intellectual 
as  in  his  moral  character. 

As  an  instance  of  the  watchful  care  which  he  exer- 
cised over  the  churches  which  he  had  been  the  instru- 
ment of  planting,  the  reason  may  be  quoted,  which  he, 
in  conjunction  with  Melancthon  and  Pomeranus,  as- 
signed for  disapproving  a  small  treatise,  written  by  a 
certain  pastor  in  Thuringia,  of  the  name  of  Thomas 
Neagorgus,  and  for  advising  the  author  not  to  publish 
it.  To  inquiries  on  the  subject,  they  "wisely  and 
piously  replied."  They  stated  that  they  had  found 
the  subject  of  predestination  very  dangerously  treated 
in  it ;  and  that  the  writer  said  that  the  elect  did  not 
lose  the  Spirit  of  God,  even  though  they  fell  into  mani- 
fest crimes.  They  declared  that  they  had  unanimously, 
always,  and  in  all  churches,  taught  the  contrary ; 
namely,  that  if  any  holy  and  faithful  person  knowingly 
and  willingly  sinned  against  the  precepts  of  God,  he 
was  to  be  considered  as  no  longer  holy,  but  as  having 
rejected  the  Spirit  of  God.  If,  indeed,  he  should  re- 
pent and  return,  then  God  would  observe  the  sworn 
promise  of  his  grace  :  "  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God, 
I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked  ;  but  that 
the  wicked  turn  from  his  way,  and  live."  He  will, 
therefore,  receive  the  returning  sinner  afresh  into  his 


310  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

favour,  and  will  light  up  in  his  heart  true  faith,  by  the 
gospel,  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  They  add,  "  that  it  is  not 
commanded  that  we  should  inquire  if  we  are  elected ; 
but  that  we  should  know,  and  firmly  hold,  that  he  who 
finally  perseveres  in  penitence  and  faith,  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  elect,  and  to  be  saved,  according  to  the 
solemn  saying  of  Christ,  Matt,  x,  22, '  He  that  endureth 
to  the  end  shall  be  saved.'  This  doctrine,"  they  say, 
"  is  clear,  and  has  no  tendency  to  render  the  fallen 
secure,  but  compels  them  to  fear  the  wrath  of  God  :  for 
most  certain  it  is,  that  God  is  offended  with  all  sins, 
whether  the  elect  or  the  non-elect  fall  into  them.  Hu- 
man reason  pictures  an  unrighteous  will  of  God,  as 
though  he  were  a  mere  tyrant,  who  approves  the  acts 
of  certain  persons,  whether  they  be  good  or  bad  ones, 
while  others  he  hates  whatsoever  they  do.  Such  a 
will  ought  not  to  be  attributed  to  God  ;  for  it  is  the 
saying  of  eternal  truth,  '  Thou  hatest  all  workers  of 
iniquity,'  Psalm  v,  5.  God,  indeed,  accepts  those  saints 
in  whom  sin  still  remains,  but  even  this  is  not  without 
a  great  price  of  redemption,  namely,  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ ;  because  of  which  we  are  received  into  favour 
if  we  believe,  and  so  long  as  we  believe.''1  Seckendorf 
adds :  "  He  refutes  also  the  objection  taken  from  the 
case  of  David,  Psalm  li,  as  though  he  had  retained  the 
Holy  Spirit  while  in  his  sin  of  adultery  and  murder. 
And  in  the  same  writing,  many  things  more,  to  the 
same  effect,  he  very  excellently  advances  ;  from  which 
it  appears  plainly  what  he  really  thought  on  this  ques- 
tion, and  in  what  sense  the  stronger  expressions  which 
he  has  elsewhere  employed  are  to  be  taken.  And 
thus,"  continues  Seckendorf,  "  what  I  have  often  de- 
clared, and  which  can  scarcely  be  repeated  and  incul- 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  311 

cated  too  frequently,  is  most  clearly  and  impressively 
established,  that  the  doctrine  of  Luther  requires,  when 
the  question  does  not  relate  immediately  to  the  justifi- 
cation of  a  sinner,  that  with  faith  there  be  conjoined 
purity  of  conscience,  and,  at  the  very  least,  abstinence 
from  all  known  and  wilful  sin." 

To  a  few  miscellaneous  observations  and  occur- 
rences in  the  closing  years  of  Luther's  life  will  refer- 
ence now  be  made,  that  the  persevering  uniformity  of 
his  character  may  be  evidently  apparent.  He  continued 
to  labour,  for  labour  was  pleasant  to  him ;  and  like  all 
who  religiously  study  the  word  of  God,  the  more  he 
studied  it,  the  more  he  perceived  of  its  wonderful 
excellences,  and  the  more  anxiously  desirous  he  was 
to  open  to  others,  for  their  spiritual  benefit,  the  blessed 
truths  which,  in  the  progress  of  his  diligent  and  prayer- 
ful researches,  had  been  unfolded  to  his  own  mind. 
But  while  these  pursuits  exhibited  the  diligent  minister 
of  God's  word,  there  were  occasions  which  served  to 
show  the  man ;  the  man  in  whom  nature  was  not 
destroyed  by  grace,  but  sanctified,  and  thus  illustrated 
and  adorned.  In  the  year  1540  Melancthon  had  a  very 
severe  and  alarming  attack  of  illness.  He  appears, 
indeed,  to  have  been  completely  subdued  by  his  mental 
labours  and  exercises.  Excited  by  his  work,  and 
eagerly  intent  upon  the  objects  that  were  from  time  to 
time  presented,  he  overlooked  the  symptoms  of  failing 
energy,  till,  while  on  a  journey,  his  nervous  system 
gave  way,  and  he  sunk  at  once,  thoroughly  exhausted, 
and,  as  maybe  gathered  from  Luther's  subsequent  lan- 
guage, most  painfully  dispirited.  Luther  was  sent  for ; 
and  when  he  arrived  he  found  his  friend  apparently  at 
the  very  last  gasp.     His  eyes  were  failing,  his  under- 


312  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

standing  nearly  lost,  the  power  of  speech  and  hearing 
almost  gone,  his  countenance  was  sunken  and  deathly  ; 
he  noticed  no  one,  and  took  neither  food  nor  drink. 
Luther,  seeing  him,  was  overwhelmed  with  consterna- 
tion. Addressing  himself  to  the  companions  of  his  jour- 
ney, he  exclaimed,  "  O  my  good  God!  that  Satan  should 
have  been  permitted  to  spoil  so  fine  an  instrument." 
But  he  knew  his  refuge.  Turning  his  face  to  the 
window,  he  poured  out  his  heart  before  God  with  the 
earnestness  and  importunacy  of  one  who  delighted  in 
prayer,  and  had  often  experienced  its  blessedness  and 
success.  Seckendorf  says  that  he  could  not  express 
in  Latin  the  holy  boldness  of  Luther  on  this  occasion, 
and  only  gives  its  substance.*  He  seemed  to  be  plead- 
ing with  God,  placing  before  him  all  the  promises  that 
prayer  should  be  heard  which  might  be  alleged  from 
Scripture,  and  almost  enforcing  them  upon  him.  "  Thou 
must  hear  and  answer  me,"  he  said,  "  if  thou  wiliest 
to  maintain  my  trust  in  thy  promises." 

Glassius,  as  quoted  by  Seckendorf,  then  proceeds  to 
describe  what  followed.  Taking  the  hand  of  Melanc- 
thon,  whose  case  he  seems  thoroughly  to  have  under- 
stood, he  addressed  him  in  language  directly  aiming  at 
the  removal  of  his  depression,  saying  what  he  said  not 
only  with  the  affectionate  earnestness  of  a  friend,  and 
the  true  sympathy  of  a  Christian  brother,  but  with  the 
oolemn  authority  of  the  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  "  Be  of  good  courage,  my  Philip,"  he  said ; 
"  for  thou  shalt  not  die :  although  God  has  always 
sufficient  reason  for  slaying  us,  yet  he  wills  not  the 

*  Parrhesia  hsec  vix  exprimi  Latine  potest ;  sensus  est,  &c. 
Itaque  cogebatur  (ait)  me  exaudire,  si  fiduciam  meam  in  pro- 
missiones  suas  conservare  vellet. 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  313 

death  of  a  sinner,  but  that  he  should  turn  from  his  way 
and  live.  He  delights  in  our  life,  and  not  in  our  death. 
If  the  greatest  sinners  that  ever  lived  in  the  world,  that 
is  to  say,  Adam  and  Eve,  he  called  and  received  into 
his  favour,  much  less  will  he  cast  thee  away,  or  allow 
thee  to  perish  in  thy  sin  and  grief.  Wherefore,  give 
no  place  to  this  spirit  of  sadness,  nor  become  a  homi- 
cide to  thyself;  but  trust  thou  in  God,  who  is  able  to 
kill  and  to  make  alive." 

While  he  thus  spoke,  Melancthon  began  to  revive 
There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that,  as,  on  the  one  hand, 
physical  exhaustion  had  prepared  the  way  for  mental 
depression,  so,  on  the  other,  the  bodily  disorder  was 
greatly  aggravated  by  the  mental  suffering,  the  removal 
of  which  was  thus  necessary  to  the  patient's  recovery. 
In  his  weakness,  he  had  looked  at  his  own  unworthi- 
ness,  his  natural  sinfulness,  his  unfaithfulness  ;  and 
looking  at  these  only,  a  settled  gloom  had  spread  over 
his  whole  spirit,  and  now  threatened  his  very  life. 
Luther  spoke  to  him  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and 
called  him  away  from  himself  to  the  contemplation  of 
the  infinite  goodness  of  his  redeeming  God,  as  declared 
in  sacred  Scripture.  The  sick  man  had  the  only 
remedy  thus  brought  nigh  to  him  ;  and,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  it  was  effectual.  He  received  with  thankful- 
ness and  faith  the  encouraging  declaration  of  his  friend. 
He  took  heart  ;*  the  restored  quietness  of  his  mind 
soothed  and  allayed  the  irritation  of  his  nerves ;  the 
crisis  of  his  disorder  passed  away  favourably,  and  from 
that  time  he  gradually  regained  strength,  till  he  was 
fully  restored  to  his  former  health.     Subsequently,  re- 

*  Haec  dum  ita  proloquitur,  reviviscere  quasi  et  spiritum  ducere 
Philippus  incipit,  &c. 

14 


314  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

ferring  to  the  circumstances,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  he  de- 
clares his  belief  that  he  should  have  died  but  for  this  visit 
of  Luther,  who  thus  recalled  him  from  impending  death.* 

A  similar  instance  of  Luther's  sympathy  with  his 
friend  is  furnished  by  a  letter  which,  in  January,  1541, 
he  wrote  to  Frederic  Myconius,  superintendent  of 
Gotha,  then  dangerously  ill.  The  letter,  only  part  of 
which  is  given  by  Seckendorf,  is  said  by  him  to  be 
full  of  suitable  consolation  for  a  person  supposed  to  be 
drawing  near  to  death,  and  to  express  that  full  and 
unshaken  reliance  which  he  felt  and  cherished  that 
his  prayers  should  not  be  unheard. 

Among  other  things,  he  says,  "  I  pray  and  beseech 
our  Lord  Jesus,  our  life,  our  salvation,  and  our  health, 
that  he  would  not  add  this  to  my  other  afflictions,  that 
I  should  see  thee,  or  some  other  of  our  friends,  break- 
ing through  the  veil,  and  pressing  into  their  rest,  while 
I  am  left  behind,  still  dwelling  among  devils,  while 
you  go  before.  I  pray  that  our  Lord  would  visit  me 
with  thy  sickness,  and  put  me  in  thy  place  ;  com- 
manding me,  exhausted,  as  I  am,  and  past  service,  to 
lay  down  this  now  useless  tabernacle."  And  in  the 
foot  of  the  same  letter  he  writes,  "  Farewell,  my  Fre- 
deric. May  our  Lord  not  suffer  me  to  hear  of  thy  re- 
moval, myself  still  living ;  but  may  he  make  thee  my 
survivor.  This  I  desire  ;  this  I  will.  And  let  my 
will  be  done.  Amen !  Because  this  my  will  seeks 
neither  my  own  pleasure  nor  profit,  but  only  the  glory 
of  God's  name.  Once  more,  farewell.  We  pray  for 
thee  with  our  whole  soul,  and  are  most  grievously 
troubled  and  afflicted  by  thy  sickness." 

*  Fuissem  extinctus,  nisi  adventu  Lutheri  ex  media  morte  re- 
vocatus  essem. 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  315 

Luther's  prayer  was  heard.  Myconius  not  only  re- 
covered from  what  was  then  supposed  to  be  a  despe- 
rate sickness,  but  he  did  actually,  though  by  only  a 
short  space,  survive  his  great  leader.  He  died  on  the 
7th  of  April,  1546,  one  month  after  Luther. 

That  the  work  of  this  venerable  servant  of  God 
was  almost  done,  became,  indeed,  increasingly  evident. 
He  had  lived  most  temperately,  or  he  could  not  have 
lived  as  long  as  he  did  ;  but  he  had  not  spared  him- 
self, and  his  labours  had  been  far  more  wearing  and  ex- 
hausting than  had  they  been  only  physical.  With  his 
robust  constitution,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  the 
utmost  limits  of  human  life  might  have  been  reached ; 
but  he  felt  as  deeply  and  acutely,  as  he  laboured  unre- 
mittingly ;  and  therefore,  though  he  lived  temperately, 
yet  he  lived  fast,  and  was  an  old  man  many  years  be- 
fore he  would  have  been  so  in  the  usual  order  of  na- 
ture. And  he  was  aware  of  this,  and  therefore  looked 
forward  with  holy  desire  to  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
nearly-approaching  period  of  rest  from  his  labours, 
though,  at  the  same  time,  the  old  spirit  was  strong 
within  him,  and  while  life  lasted  he  delighted  to 
labour.  Thus,  in  1542,  writing  to  Anthony  Lanter- 
bach,  he  says,  "  Let  us  go  on,  preaching,  praying,  and 
bearing.  There  is  a  reward  for  our  work,  and  we  do 
not  labour  in  vain."  He  then  requests  his  friend  to 
pray  for  him,  that  in  good  time  he  might  fall  asleep, 
saying,  "  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished 
my  course."  And  in  February,  1544,  he  concludes  a 
letter  to  Spalatinus  by  saying,  "  Farewell  in  the  Lcrd  : 
and  pray  for  me,  that  I  may  happily  remove  out  of  this 
body  of  sin  and  death."* 

*  Ut  feliciter  migrem  ex  corpore,  &c. 


316  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


The  fruitless  conference  of  Ratisbon  was  interrupted 
while  in  progress  by  an  event  which  the  Romanists 
hailed  with  a  satisfaction  hardly  less  vivid  than  was 
the  grief  of  their  more  virtuous  antagonists.  The  sud- 
den removal  of  their  venerable  guide  and  father  from 
the  scene  of  his  earthly  labours  filled  the  hearts  of 
Protestant  Europe  with  a  common  and  awful  sorrow. 
For  some  years  past  the  health  of  the  great  reformer 
had  been  breaking  up.  In  addition  to  the  inroads  on 
his  constitution  of  that  cruel  disorder,  the  stone, — a 
complaint  which  his  sedentary  habits  tended  greatly 
to  aggravate, — his  physical  strength  had  long  been 
sapped  by  the  toils  of  a  mind  impatient  of  the  restraints 
and  weakness  of  its  material  minister.  The  numerous 
and  keen  anxieties  incident  to  that  work  which  was 
the  one  absorbing  business  of  his  life  had  further  con- 
tributed to  wear  down  a  frame  already  shattered  by 
the  accesses  of  various  disease  ;  while  the  frequent 
and  dark  fits  of  despondency,  induced  by  nervous  ex- 
haustion, had  also  lent  their  aid  to  stimulate,  by  reac- 
tion, the  activity  of  those  morbid  causes  from  which 
they  sprang.  Shortly  after  his  marriage,  Luther  had 
been  seized  with  one  of  those  excruciating  paroxysms 
of  his  original  malady,  which  are,  perhaps,  beyond  all 
other  forms  of  bodily  suffering,  the  most  terrific.  From 
the  effects  of  this  severe  illness  he  appears  never  to 
have  thoroughly  rallied.  As  age  drew  on,  such  spas- 
modic seizures,  though  generally  less  violent,  oftener 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  317 

recurred  than  in  former  years ;  every  fresh  attack 
leaving  him  spoiled  of  some  fragment  of  his  corporeal 
vigour.  During  the  last  few  months  of  his  existence, 
infirmities  fell  thick  upon  him.  His  sight  failed  ;  and 
notwithstanding  the  robust  energy  which  had  charac- 
terized his  prime  of  manhood,  he  describes  himself,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-three,  as  "very  old,  and  feeble,  and 
having  only  one  eye." 

In  this  state,  he  complied  with  an  invitation  from 
the  counts  of  Mansfeldt,  and  set  out,  early  in  1546,  for 
his  native  town  of  Eisleben,  to  arbitrate  some  disputes 
which  had  recently  arisen  between  those  noblemen 
regarding  their  several  rights  of  property  in  certain  of 
the  mines  of  that  neighbourhood. 

The  voluntary  submission  of  the  disputing  lords  to 
the  judgment  of  an  umpire  who,  born  one  of  the  hum- 
blest of  their  own  vassals,  was  eminent  only  in  virtue 
of  a  grand  intellect  and  a  holy  cause,  constituted  as 
remarkable  a  tribute  to  his  singular  ability  and  worth  as 
could  have  graced  the  last  days  of  the  reformer.  On 
his  arrival  at  Eisleben,  he  was  met  by  the  two  counts, 
with  a  retinue  of  a  hundred  horsemen,  and  escorted  to 
the  lodging  which  they  had  prepared  for  his  reception. 
Every  token  of  an  affectionate  veneration  awaited 
him.  His  table  was  supplied  by  the  noblemen  whose 
differences  he  was  called  to  adjust ;  and  the  whole 
population  of  the  place,  with  an  honourable  pride  in 
the  high  and  sacred  achievements  of  their  immortal 
fellow-townsman,  vied  with  each  other  in  manifesting 
their  united  and  grateful  esteem.  But  the  reverent 
joy  which  his  presence,  in  the  scene  of  his  birth, 
awakened,  was  soon  to  be  exchanged  for  a  mourning  as 
universal  and  heartfelt  as  ever  followed  the  translation 


318  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

of  an  illustrious  spirit  from  the  cares  and  pains  of  this 
world  to  a  region  of  happier  and  purer  being. 

The  fatigue  of  so  long  a  journey,  undertaken  in  the 
depth  of  an  inclement  winter,  and  protracted  by  a  flood, 
rendering  the  usual  roads  impassable,  proved  too  much 
for  the  enfeebled  health  of  the  reformer.  For  some 
few  days,  the  delight  of  visiting  the  home  of  his  youth, 
and  the  hope  of  reconciling  the  feudal  superiors,  whom 
he  loved  with  a  remnant  of  the  clan-feeling  of  an  older 
period,  infused  new  animation  into  the  pulses  of  a 
heart  which  was  prone  to  throb  with  every  generous 
and  fine  emotion.  But  the  dullness  of  the  grave  was 
at  hand.  As  the  month  of  February  advanced,  he  be- 
came unable  to  leave  the  house.  On  the  16th  of  that 
month,  when  obliged  to  confine  himself  to  his  own 
apartments,  he  observed  to  his  friend  Jonas,  who,  with 
Celius,  the  Protestant  curate  of  Eisleben,  was  in  at- 
tendance on  him,  "  Here  I  was  born  and  baptized : 
what  if  I  should  remain  to  die  here  also  ?"  On  the 
evening  of  the  17th  he  complained  of  a  painful  oppres- 
sion on  the  chest ;  but  conversed  during  supper  with 
his  customary  cheerfulness,  expounding  more  than  one 
striking  passage  of  Scripture  ;  and  declaring,  with  a 
peculiar  emphasis,  that  if  he  might  only  be  permitted 
to  succeed  in  his  endeavours  to  reconcile  the  proprie- 
tors of  his  native  country,  he  would  return  home,  and 
die  content.  At  eleven  o'clock  he  retired  to  his  bed, 
complaining  of  the  increased  weight  at  his  breast ;  but, 
unable  to  rest,  he  soon  rose  again,  and  was  assisted 
into  the  adjoining  room.  Count  Albert,  of  Mansfeldt, 
and  his  lady,  summoned  by  Jonas,  now  arrived  ;  and 
two  physicians  were  called  in,  who  came  immediately, 
but  in  vain.     Aware  that  he  was  dying,  Luther  now 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  319 

prayed  aloud,  saying,  "  0  my  heavenly  Father,  God  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  all  consolation, 
I  thank  thee  for  having  revealed  to  me  thy  well-beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  trust,  whom  I  have  acknowledged,  and 
preached,  and  loved  ;  but  whom  the  pope,  and  they 
who  have  no  religion,  persecute  and  oppose.  To  thee, 
O  Jesus  Christ,  I  commend  my  soul !  I  am  casting 
off  this  earthly  body,  and  passing  from  this  life  ;  but  I 
know  that  with  thee  I  shall  abide  eternally."  He  then 
recited  the  words  of  the  psalmist :  "  Into  thy  hands  I 
commit  my  spirit :  thou  hast  redeemed  me,  O  God  of 
truth !"  These  words  he  repeated  three  times,  his 
voice  growing  fainter  with  each  repetition.  Cordials 
were  administered,  in  the  hope  of  reviving  him ;  but 
had  so  little  effect,  that  it  was  with  extreme  difficulty 
that  he  could  articulate  an  answer  to  the  questions 
which  his  friends  addressed  to  him.  Only  when  Jonas, 
perceiving  that  the  end  was  near,  said,  "  Dearest  fa- 
ther, do  you  verily  confess  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,  our  Saviour  and  Redeemer  ?"  he  made  a  great 
effort,  and  replied  in  a  tone  sufficiently  distinct  to  be 
heard  by  every  person  present,  "  Yes."  It  was  the 
last  word  of  the  expiring  saint.  The  coldness  of  death 
gathered  on  his  face  and  forehead ;  his  breath  came 
heavily  ;  and  with  eyes  closed,  and  his  hands  clasped, 
he  remained  apparently  unconscious  of  what  passed 
around  him,  until,  between  two  and  three  o'clock,  the 
tide  of  mortal  life  ebbed  back,  leaving  the  mighty 
spirit  landed  in  eternity. 

Thus,  in  his  sixty-fourth  year,  died  Martin  Luther, 
uttering  forth  with  his  latest  breath  his  confidence  in 
that  Saviour  whom  in  this  world  it  was  his  highest 
glory  to  have  made  known  to  a  deluded,  faithless,  and 


320  EIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

forgetful  generation.  When  the  tidings  of  his  death 
were  communicated  to  Melancthon,  that  greatest  of  his 
surviving  associates,  he  burst  into  tears,  exclaiming,  in 
the  language  of  Elisha,  "  My  father,  my  father,  the 
chariot  of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof !" 

It  was  the  wish  of  the  counts  of  Mansfeldt  to  have 
interred  the  body  of  Luther  in  the  town  of  his  nativity  ; 
but  the  elector  directed  the  burial  to  be  at  Wittenberg. 
After  lying  for  two  days  in  the  church  of  St.  Andrew, 
in  Eisleben, — where  Jonas  preached  over  it  a  dis- 
course from  the  text,  "  If  we  believe  that  Jesus  died 
and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in 
Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him," — the  corpse  was  at- 
tended on  the  road  to  Wittenberg  by  the  prince  of 
Anhalt,  and  the  principal  nobility  of  the  adjacent  dis- 
tricts, including  many  ladies,  together  with  a  prodigious 
concourse  of  the  common  people.  On  its  arrival  at 
the  gate  of  the  city  of  Halle,  the  procession  was  met 
by  the  clergy  and  senate  ;  followed  by  a  multitude  so 
dense,  that  its  progress  through  the  streets  was  diffi- 
cult. As  it  passed  along,  the  vast  crowd  sung  the  one 
hundred  and  thirtieth  Psalm  ;  and  every  man  pressed 
before  his  neighbour  to  catch  a  glimpse  only  of  the 
bier. 

On  the  22d  of  February  the  cavalcade  reached 
Wittenberg.  The  whole  body  of  the  senators,  accom- 
panied by  the  professors  and  students  of  the  university, 
with  almost  the  entire  population  of  the  city  and  its 
suburbs,  received  it  at  the  barrier.  The  body,  pre- 
ceded by  the  barons  of  Mansfeldt  and  their  suite,  and 
followed  by  the  family  of  the  illustrious  deceased,  was 
thence  conveyed  to  the  cathedral  church.  There 
Pomeranus    delivered   a    sermon    appropriate    to  the 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  321 

occasion;  after  which  the  celebrated  funeral  oration 
of  Melancthon  did  justice  to  the  memory  of  the  dead, 
while  it  bespoke  alike  the  grief,  the  genius,  and  the 
ardent  piety  of  the  speaker.  The  coffin  was  then 
lowered  into  the  grave  by  the  hands  of  several  distin- 
guished members  of  the  university. 

The  tomb  of  Luther,  in  the  cathedral  of  Wittenberg, 
bears  the  following  inscription  : — 

MARTINI-  LUTHERI-  S'  THEOLO- 
GIZE- D-  CORPUS-  H-  L-  S-  E-  QUI 

AN-  CHRISTI-  MD-  XLVI-  XII 

CAL-  MARTII-  EYSLEBII-  IN  PA- 

TRIA.  S-   M-  O-  C-  V-  ANN-  LXII1 

M-  II  D-  X.  * 


The  character  of  Luther  is  a  study  and  exemplar  for 
all  ages.  Considered  only  as  the  visible  spring  of 
those  vast  and  beneficent  results  which  have  flowed 
from  its  manifestations,  that  character  would,  indeed, 
form  one  of  the  grand  resting-places  of  inquiry  to  the 
philosophical  historian.  When  we  remember  to  what 
a  prodigious  height  of  guilt  and  power  the  arch-pontifi- 
cate had  erected  itself,  before  the  reign  of  Leo  X.,  and 
with  the  elevation  and  tyrannical  force  of  those  days 
contrast  its  subsequent  declension  and  present  impo- 
tence, we  cannot  but  be  smitten  with  a  mingled  senti- 
ment of  awe  and  admiration .     It  is  truly  not  to  be  thought, 

*  Here  lies  interred  the  body  of  Martin  Luther,  Doctor  of  Di- 
vinity, who  died  at  Eisleben,  the  place  of  his  birth,  on  the  18th 
of  February,  in  the  year  of  Christ  1546,  having  lived  63  years, 
3  months,  and  10  days. 

14* 


322  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

without  amazement,  that  the  superb  fabric  of  a  fraudu- 
lent ambition,  the  throne  of  a  despotism  which  clothed 
itself  with  the  thunders  of  Omnipotence,  and  assumed 
to  wield  the  final  destinies  of  men,  should  have  been 
shaken  and  abased  by  the  efforts  of  one  who,  born  in 
obscurity,  wrestling  through  the  far  greater  portion  of 
his  life  with  the  oppressions  of  disease  and  poverty, 
and  unaided  by  a  solitary  advantage  of  worldly  dis- 
tinction, was,  nevertheless,  enabled  to  arouse  the 
chained  spirit  of  Europe  from  its  ghastly  and  long 
dream  of  superstition,  and  revive  within  the  hearts  of 
nations  that  vital  liberty  of  thought,  without  which  the 
mere  external  forms  of  freedom  are  but  a  fiction  and  a 
shadow. 

Nor  do  we  here  assert  for  Luther  anything  like  an 
invidious  pre-eminence  over  his  faithful  and  illustrious 
abettors.  Their  labours  be  it  far  from  us  to  depreciate, 
or  in  any  way  to  derogate  from  their  just  praise,  as  it 
still  lives  in  all  the  churches  of  Protestant  Christen- 
dom. All  that  we  claim  for  the  great  master  spirit  of 
the  Reformation  is  the  honour  due  to  the  originator, 
the  guide,  and  superintending  regulator  of  a  movement 
which  has  had  no  parallel,  for  breadth  and  grandeur, 
since  the  age  when,  in  the  strength  of  their  divine 
commission,  the  first  apostles  went  through  all  regions, 
turning  the  world  upside  down.  That  such  peculiar 
and  high  honour  truly  belonged  to  Luther,  his  surviving 
brethren  were  the  prompt  and  eloquent  witnesses. 
Conscious  of  their  own  deep  obligations  to  his  counsel 
and  instructions,  and  unforgetful  of  that  wise  and 
dauntless  energy  which,  evoked  by  his  example  in 
themselves,  had  never  flinched  from  the  utterance  of 
the  truth,  no  matter  at  what  extremity  of  individual 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  323 

hazard,  those  worthy  assistants  of  so  noble  a  leader 
bore  ample  and  emphatic  testimony  to  his  extraordi- 
nary gifts  and  virtue.  Indeed,  it  cannot  be  denied, 
that  while  the  Reformation  conspicuously,  above  every 
other  event  in  modern  history,  shows  the  active  pre- 
sence of  a  more  than  human  power,  overruling  circum- 
stances, and  adapting  agents,  with  a  wisdom  as  benefi- 
cent as  it  was  unerring  ;  that  event  also  bears,  through 
all  its  various  relations,  and  especially  in  the  determi- 
nation and  distinctive  frame  of  intellect  which  it  im- 
pressed upon  the  mass  of  European  society,  the 
very  stamp  and  effigies  of  the  genius  and  the  soul  of 
Luther. 

The  moral  feature  which,  on  the  face  of  Luther's 
biography,  at  once  arrests  our  admiring  sympathy,  is 
the  singular  and  sustained  intrepidity  of  his  conduct. 
In  estimating  the  value  and  the  sources  of  this  quality, 
it  is  not  to  be  doubted,  that  along  the  whole  current  of 
his  life,  as  well  as  in  those  critical  moments  when  it 
is  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that  the  fate  of  the  hu- 
man mind,  through  all  future  time,4iung  upon  his  reso- 
lution, there  was  a  hand  upholding  the  reformer,  and  a 
"  spirit  of  courage"  breathed  into  his  being,  of  which 
the  heroism  of  this  world  knows  nothing.  Nor  may 
we  question  that  the  same  afflating  influence  could 
have  wrought  an  equal  boldness  in  creatures  whose 
constitutional  timidity  was  excessive  and  effeminate. 
But  admitting,  as  we  cordially  do  admit,  the  invigora- 
tion  of  the  man  by  an  inspired  and  heavenly  energy, 
ever  adequate  to  the  exigency  of  the  instant  occasion, 
we  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact,  that,  by  original 
privilege  of  nature,  Luther  was  invested  with  a  force 
of  temperament,  and  an  indomitable  courage,  which 


324  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

have  never  been  excelled.  Neither  does  this  state- 
ment at  all  derogate  from  that  reference  of  his  acts  to 
the  final  direction  of  a  higher  and  sovereign  Disposer, 
upon  which  no  one  more  earnestly  than  himself  in- 
sisted. It  is  surely  not  dishonourable  to  the  providen- 
tial sway  and  foresight  of  that  Being  from  whom  is 
the  preparation  of  the  heart,  to  believe,  that  he  so  con- 
stituted the  moral  being  of  Luther,  as  to  render  it  a 
congenial  and  apt  instrument  for  the  work  to  which  it 
was  specifically  designated. 

In  tracing  the  developments  of  this  daring  and  awe- 
less  principle,  we  are  again  struck  by  the  adaptation 
of  circumstantial  causes  to  elicit,  at  once,  and,  by  ex- 
ertion, to  enliven  and  to  aggrandize,  its  power.  It  has 
been  shrewdly  observed  of  the  first  Cesar,  that  his 
early  privation  of  the  care  and  guidance  of  a  father  had 
a  beneficial  effect  upon  his  character  and  destiny,  in- 
asmuch as  it  threw  him  so  entirely  on  his  own  intimate 
resources  as  to  bring  out  a  habit  of  self-dependance 
which  Avas  ultimately  of  essential  service  in  promoting 
his  magnificent  successes.  The  actual  conditions  of 
the  youth  of  Luther,  though  widely  different  in  them- 
selves, were  not  without  a  similar  tendency.  With 
an  understanding  of  prodigious  grasp  and  penetration, 
opened  out  and  quickened  by  an  education  far  superior 
to  the  scanty  instruction  of  his  parents  and  companions, 
the  reaches  of  his  thought,  and  the  tastes  peculiar  to 
knowledge,  set  him  apart  from  those  who,  in  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  things,  should  have  ruled  his  actions, 
and  dictated  his  choice.  Hence  his  mind  grew  into 
solidity,  and  learned  to  rely  upon  itself,  on  its  own 
promptings  and  deliberate  judgment.  The  extreme 
poverty  in  which  he  passed  his   younger  days  was 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  325 

another  circumstance  aiding  to  induce  and  to  confirm 
the  same  habitual  trust  in  his  own  individual  energies. 
It  thrust  into  operation  the  active  forces,  as  informa- 
tion had  expanded  and  given  impulse  to  the  intellectual 
faculty.  Luther  was  thus  taught  not  only  to  be  swift 
and  self-assured  in  his  decisions,  but  ready  and  strong 
in  execution.  To  resolve,  and  to  be  doing,  were,  with 
him,  the  business  of  one  and  the  same  instant.  He 
allowed  no  interval  of  hesitation,  no  plausible  delay, 
under  pretence  of  reconsidering  the  matter  presently 
in  hand,  to  cheat  him  of  his  purpose.  There  was, 
therefore,  an  inflexible  steadfastness  about  him,  and  a 
forthright  promptitude  of  will,  which  were  of  inappre- 
ciable utility  in  his  contest  with  the  minions  of  the 
popedom.  If,  in  mature  age,  these  properties  some- 
times gave  an  air  of  hardness  to  his  resolutions,  and 
made  him  cling,  with  exorbitant  tenacity  to  the  opinions 
which  he  had  once  avowed,  the  cases  of  error  were 
so  few,  and  the  fault  in  itself  so  venial,  as  to  be  only 
the  dust  in  the  balance  when  weighed  against  the 
mighty  conquest  which  they  mainly  contributed  to 
achieve  for  freedom  and  religion. 

But  with  this  rooted  and  firm  self-confidence  there 
was  associated  a  depth  and  candour  of  feeling,  which 
is  not  often  to  be  found  in  the  same  combination. 
The  men  of  practical  vigour,  and  decisive  temper,  are, 
for  the  most  part,  those  who  have  little  of  the  softer 
and  milky  attributes  of  humanity  in  their  composition. 
Their  sensibilities  are  dull,  their  attachments  rare  and 
cold.  Generally,  they  are  encrusted  with  a  certain 
ruggedness,  a  stern  and  hard  exterior,  which  seems 
both  to  shut  up  the  inner  passions  as  in  an  impervious 
case,  and  to  be  almost  invulnerable  to  the  touch  of 


326  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER. 

sympathy  from  others.  Such  men  are,  rarely,  in  a 
large  degree,  accessible  to  the  benign  influences  of 
social  charity ;  still  less  have  they  of  the  fine  senses 
which  imagination  grafts  upon  the  ever-stirring  appe- 
tence for  love  from  without.  All  that  the  Avorld  has  of 
beautiful,  and  delicate,  and  tender,  of  the  touching  and 
the  grand,  is  but  as  sweet  sounds  to  the  deaf,  or  colour 
to  the  blind.  Even  if,  as  will  sometimes  happen,  the 
cardinal  affections  should  be  deep  and  big  in  persons 
of  this  energetic  and  determined  stamp,  they  have  com- 
monly only  a  narrow  range  ;  they  seldom  wander  far 
from  the  homestead  and  the  hearth,  or  embrace  crea- 
tures who  have  no  claims  but  those  of  kindred  warmth, 
and  sympathetic  mutuality.  In  short,  it  is  one  of  the 
rarest  things  in  actual  life  to  see  people  of  that  reso- 
lute and  stirring  temperament  which  vanquishes  diffi- 
culty, and  succumbs  not  to  terror,  endowed  with  much 
of  that  idealized  fervour  which  the  Greeks  called 
enthusiasm ;  a  word  of  which  only  they  who  have  the 
thing  can  ever  hope  to  apprehend  the  full  and  precise 
import. 

But  with  this  subtle  essence,  this  genial  enthusiasm, 
the  whole  spirit  of  Luther,  through  all  its  functions, 
was  animated  and  imbued.  His  affections,  friendships, 
tastes  and  occupations,  even  his  enmities,  were  im- 
pregnated and  pervaded  by  it.  It  gave  tenderness  to 
the  endearments  of  his  domestic  circle,  and  won  to  him 
the  fraternal  confidence  of  his  associates.  The  pas- 
sages which  record  his  emotions  as  a  parent,  his  grief 
for  the  death  of  his  daughter  Madeline,  (who  was  taken 
from  him  in  her  childhood,)  and,  among  others,  the  ex- 
quisite letter  which  he  wrote  to  his  eldest  son,  then 
only  fourteen  years  of  age,  during  the  session  of  the 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  327 

Diet  of  Augsburg,  manifest  an  overflowing  of  paternal 
love,  as  affecting  as  it  is  grateful.  The  great  and 
strong  heart  which  had  glowed  with  so  mighty  an  in- 
dignation at  the  profligacies  of  ecclesiastical  misrule, — 
which  had  quailed  not  under  the»  fiercest  denounce- 
ments of  the  mitred  tyranny  of  Rome,  and  throbbed 
only  with  a  more  heroic  pulse  before  the  arrayed  ma- 
lignity of  the  emperor  and  his  satellites  at  Worms, — > 
beats,  in  these  instances,  with  the  tenderness  of  in- 
fancy, and  the  yearnings  of  a  mother.  When  Melahc- 
thon,  himself  one  of  the  kindliest  of  human  beings, 
lay  on  the  bed  of  sickness,  Luther  tended  him  with 
something  more  than  the  solicitude  of  a  brother.  The 
sufferer,  on  his  recovery,  tells  us  that  but  for  the  con- 
solations and  the  ministering  sympathy  of  his  friend, 
he  should  certainly  have  died.  So  when  Tetzel,  ter- 
rified and  broken-hearted,  was  at  the  point  of  death, 
deserted  and  condemned  by  those  whose  battle  he  had 
fought,  Luther,  oblivious  of  the  inexpiable  rancour  with 
which  that  person  had  assailed  him,  writes  to  the 
expiring  monk  a  letter  full  of  comfort  and  forgiveness. 
He  was  indeed  one  of  the  few  who  have  ever  really 
possessed  the  high-souled  generosity  that  knows  how 

"  Debellare  superbos, — parcere  victis." 

Then  his  love  for  the  scenes  of  his  younger  life, 
Eisenach,  where  he  was  at  school,  which  he  calls,  in 
years  long  after,  his  "  own  beloved  town,"  and  his 
birth-place,  Eisleben,  together  with  the  anxious  wish 
that  haunted  his  very  death-bed,  to  secure  the  happi- 
ness and  tranquillity  of  his  native  district,  touchingly 
bespeak  the  genuine  and  deep  susceptibility  of  all  the 
"fair  humanities"  and  loveliest  impressions  of  our  kind. 


328  LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER. 

Over  all  his  personal  tastes,  too,  reigned  the  same 
fine  spirit  of  a  manly  and  alive  sensibility,  not  exube- 
rant and  bordering  on  that  degenerate  and  sickly  appe- 
tite for  the  pathetic  which  scorns  the  "  daily  food"  and 
the  common-places  «of  living  experience  ;  but  cordial, 
discriminative,  and  intelligent.  Of  beauty,  in  its  mani- 
fold shapes  and  evanescent  hues,  whether  in  nature  or 
art,  few  of  his  contemporaries  had  an  apter  apprecia- 
tion. To  this  faculty,  his  affectionate  intercourse  with 
the*  painter  Carnac,  and  protection  of  the  artificial 
embellishments  of  the  Saxon  churches  from  that  mer- 
ciless lust  of  destruction,  which  seized  the  unhappy 
Carlostadt,  would  abundantly  testify,  had  we  no  other 
evidence  that  he  actually  possessed  it.  His  passion 
for  music  is  well  known  ;  and  the  solemn  flow  of  that 
noble  harmony  which  he  adapted  to  the  hundredth 
Psalm  has  made  familiar  to  all  ears  his  admirable  feli- 
city in  composition.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  species  of 
mental  fabrication  which  so  faithfully  expresses  the 
ruling  qualities  of  the  artist's  mind,  as  does  the  work 
of  musical  combination.  In  the  productions  of  Luther, 
in  this  sort,  we  read  a  transcript  of  the  subdued,  but 
not  sad,  solemnity,  and  the  august  imagery,  of  the  He- 
brew prophets,  which  habitually  overhung  the  thoughts 
of  the  composer.  There  is  a  character  of  deep  night 
about  them,  a  vague  suggestion  of  the  grave,  and  a 
memory  of  the  stars.  Simple  as  they  are, — and,  for 
devotional  purposes,  the  simpler  always  the  better, — 
they  show  the  writer  to  have  reached  a  preconception 
of  the  austere  grandeur  and  dramatic  manifestation  of 
the  logical  subject,  which  are  the  unapproached  excel- 
lences of  the  labours  of  Mozart  and  Handel.  We 
could  wish,  indeed,  that  the  mere  mechanical  stringers 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  329 

of  crotchets  and  quavers,  who,  in  this  country,  manu- 
facture what  are  called  psalm-tunes,  would  only  strive 
to  acquire  a  perception  of  the  symbolical  propriety — 
the  melodious  utterance  of  a  feeling  accordant  with  the 
awful  holiness  of  divine  worship — which  so  observably 
characterizes  the  sacred  harmonies  of  Luther.  We 
might  then  hope  to  be  saved  the  pain  of  having  our 
ears  pierced,  in  church  or  chapel,  with  the  groaning 
and  shrieking  psalmody  which  so  often  defiles  some 
of  the  noblest  stanzas  that  were  ever  written  by  an 
uninspired  poet. 

We  have  lingered  on  these  milder  traits  of  the  great 
reformer's  nature,  because  it  has  been  the  fashion  with 
many  writers  to  dwell  with  an  unfriendly  affectation 
of  charity  and  candour  upon  the  vehemences  of  his 
controversial  displays,  as  if  they  really  inferred  an 
acerb  and  ruthless  disposition.  To  read  the  lamenta- 
tions of  some  of  his  biographers  over  the  alleged 
licenses  of  his  style  in  disputation  ;  their  lachrymose 
regrets  for  the  intemperance,  not  to  say  scurrility,  into 
which,  forsooth,  he  occasionally  suffered  his  irritation 
to  betray  him  ;  one  would  almost  suppose  that  Luther 
had  sinned  against  every  canon  of  fair  argumentation 
and  retort,  by  converting  his  polemical  writings  into 
the  mere  equipage  of  personal  virulence  and  slander. 
These  amiable  sentimentalists,  who  thus  weep  for  the 
absence  of  forbearing  civility,  which,  being  then  un- 
born, would  never  yet  have  seen  the  light  but  for  that 
culture  of  the  social  charities  which  is  one  of  the  fra- 
grant fruits  of  the  principles  of  the  Reformation,  forget 
that  in  the  days  of  Luther  courtesy  formed  no  part  of 
the  rules  of  literary  battle.  The  encounter  was  with 
sharp  lances  ;    and  they  who  provoked  attack  were 


330  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

bound  to  take  the  wounds  they  might  receive  in  the 
onslaught  without  flinching  or  complaint.  But,  the 
custom  of  the  age  apart,  there  was  a  justifying  need 
for  the  fiery  tone  of  Luther  ;  and  he  knew  it.  As  he 
said  himself,  he  would  have  spoken  thunder,  could  he 
have  exchanged  the  tamer  language  of  this  world  for 
the  voices  of  the  heavens.  Had  his  publications  been 
less  caustic,  they  would  have  proved  inefficacious  :  the 
bull  of  excommunication  probably  would  never  have 
been  published ;  nor  the  truth  of  God  vindicated  as  it 
was  at  Worms  and  Augsburg.  But  let  any  reader, 
who  has  taken  up  with  this  shallow  prejudice,  only 
turn  to  the  pages  of  any  of  the  most  bitter  of  his  nume- 
rous philippics,  and  find,  if  he  can,  a  single  example 
of  unjust  personality,  or  venomous  recrimination,  out 
of  the  direct  and  legitimate  current  of  his  discourse. 
True  it  is  that  he  branded  Tetzel,  Eck,  and  others  of 
his  earlier  antagonists,  with  the  unenviable  titles  of 
impostors,  liars,  and  blasphemers  ;  that  in  good  round 
phrase  he  proclaimed  Leo  X.  to  be  in  league  with  the 
devil  to  destroy  the  souls  of  his  vassals  ;  and  that  even 
the  polished  Erasmus  did  not  escape  his  pungent  in- 
vective. But  who  will  now  dare  to  say  that  the  ruffianly 
recklessness  evinced  by  some  of  those  adversaries, 
their  violations  of  all  decorum  and  civilized  usage, 
invasions  of  those  sacred  privacies  of  domestic  life 
which  the  wretch  who  should  now  venture  to  profane 
would  be  hounded  out  of  society ; — who,  we  ask,  can 
bring  to  his  remembrance  the  outrages  of  every  kind 
which  were  heaped  upon  him,  and  still  say  tha  the 
very  harshest  epithets  ever  applied  by  Luther  to  his 
assailants  amounted  to  an  adequate  retaliation  for  their 
crimes  against  himself?    The  polite  and  learned  priest 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  331 

of  Rotterdam,  to  whom,  as  a  moral  being,  it  would  be 
doing  infinite  injustice  to  place  him  in  comparison  even 
with  Eck,  the  best  of  all  the  remaining  host  of  Luther's 
opposers  ;  even  that  eminent  personage,  with  his  silken 
horror  of  the  rout  created  by  the  man  of  Wittenberg  for 
the  sake  of  truth,  stooped  to  the  baseness  of  stabbing 
his  ancient  friend  by  a  libel,  not  on  himself  alone,  but 
equally  impugning  the  honour  of  his  wife. 

For  ourselves  we  confess  that  we  have  small  pa- 
tience for  the  weak  and  idle  outcry  in  regard  to  the 
excessive  violence  of  Luther.  No  doubt  his  indigna- 
tion spake  out  broadly,  and  with  no  silver  note  ;  but 
we  have  read  our  history  awrong,  if  ever  the  pride  and 
power  of  a  time-strengthened  structure  of  depravity 
and  despotism  were  broken  down  by  the  smooth  phrases 
of  courtly  breeding.  There  was  a  task  to  be  done  so 
gigantic  as  to  verge  on  utter  hopelessness.  It  was  no 
common  tone,  chastened  down  to  the  whispering  fret- 
fulness  of  etiquette,  that  could  have  stirred  the  dead 
heart  of  nations  grown  gray  in  an  immemorial  slavery. 
The  voice  needed  to  be  both  loud  and  stern  which  was 
to  call  up  the  latent  humanity  of  a  world  held  prostrate 
and  bound  for  ages  under  the  armed  mastery  of  Rome. 
It  was  neither  a  single  nor  a  subdued  sound  of  the 
trumpet ;  but  a  blast,  sharp  and  vehement,  and  seven 
times  reiterated,  that  brought  down  the  walls  of  Jericho. 

But,  allowing  for  some  latitude  of  judgment,  on  this 
point,  there  can  be  no  denial  that  the  exasperate  recla- 
mations of  Luther  were,  under  the  provocations  that 
awaited  him,  a  necessity  of  his  nature.  The  very  in- 
tensity of  his  emotions,  and  the  fervid  vitality  which 
steeped  his  entire  organization  of  mind,  enlivened  and 
imbittered  his  indignant  defiances  of  the  corrupt  power 


332  LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER. 

that  sought  to  overrule  and  crush  him.  His  loathing 
of  the  vast  and  sacrilegious  usurpation  against  which 
he  fought,  was  but  a  reflux  of  the  generous  ardour  that 
shed  over  his  blander  moods  a  lustre  and  a  life  of 
happiness.  To  have  tamed  the  out-blazing  anger  which 
he  poured  on  the  arch-see  and  its  defenders,  the  rush 
of  his  blood,  and  the  whole  frame-work  of  his  being, 
must  have  been  first  stopped  and  remodelled.  If,  after 
all,  some  shade  of  reproach  must,  on  account  of  a  sup- 
posed defect  of  self-command,  mingle  with  our  vene- 
ration of  a  character  otherwise  so  illustrious,  let  it  at 
least  be  recollected,  that  in  the  fault  itself  (if  fault  it 
were)  we  see  the  flashes  of  a  burning  and  clear  sin- 
cerity, which  is  worth  a  thousand  of  the  strait  proprie- 
ties of  manners. 

And  let  it  never  be  forgotten,  in  examining  this  part 
of  Luther's  history,  that  the  matter  of  strife  was  not  a 
mere  question  of  opinion,  but  reached  to  the  very  es- 
sence of  the  gospel,  and  deeply  affected  the  whole 
work  of  human  salvation.  When  controversy  refers 
only  to  what  is  consistent  with  what  St.  Paul  terms, 
emphatically  and  exclusively,  (in  the  first  chapter  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,)  the  gospel  which  he  had 
preached,  and  which  answers  the  all-important  ques- 
tion, What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  1  then  let  it  be  calm 
in  feeling  and  courteous  in  expression,  and  let  our  op- 
ponent be  regarded  as  our  brother.  But  if  Luther  was 
right,  the  case  had  occurred  which  the  apostle  himself 
describes,  and  on  which  the  inspiring  Spirit  led  him  to 
pronounce  an  unequivocal  decision,  "  Though  we,  or 
an  angel  from  heaven,  or  any  man,  preach  any  othei 
gospel  unto  you  than  that  which  we  have  preached 
unto  you,  and  that  ye  have  received,  let  him  be  ac- 


LIFE   OF  MARTIN   LUTHER.  333 

cursed."  The  Roman  system  which  Luther  attacked 
was  exactly  another  gospel ;  and  as  such,  and  with  a 
proper  feeling  of  the  dishonour  done  to  God,  and  the 
peril  in  which  souls  were  placed  by  its  means,  did  it 
require  to  be  attacked.  It  was  not  an  erroneous  opinion 
which  Luther  assailed,  so  much  as  a  moral  corruption  ; 
and  his  antagonists  were  those  who,  knowing  that  the 
word  of  God  was  against  them,  sought  to  defend  them- 
selves by  mysterious  traditions,  and  who  employed 
against  their  assailants  all  the  terrors  of  the  civil 
power, — confiscation  and  imprisonment,  stripes,  and  a 
horrible  death.  Of  such  a  system,  and  of  its  abettors, 
the  truth  could  only  be  spoken  in  terms  which  described 
not  merely  their  intellectual  errors,  but  their  moral  guilt ; 
and  such  terms,  with  a  deep  feeling  of  their  justice, 
were  those  which  Luther  employed. 

There  is  another  aspect  under  which  the  natural 
history  of  the  reformer's  mind  challenges  a  still  warmer 
reverence,  and  more  grateful  eulogy.  We  have  had 
occasion,  as  we  passed  along,  to  remark  upon  the 
nameless  fascination  which  the  shadowy  and  mystic 
grandeur  of  antiquity  exercises  over  a  vivid  and  far- 
reaching  imagination.  With  all  high  thinkers,  indeed, 
there  is  a  certain  prescriptive  and  almost  infrangible 
spell  in  things,  not  unpleasing  in  themselves,  upon 
which  time  has  laid  its  old  and  solemnizing  tinctures. 
Be  it  not  sneeringly  objected,  that  the  feeling  is  vision- 
ary and  pootical :  amidst  the  cold  and  hard  realities  of 
an  on-going  existence,  it  is  not,  perhaps,  the  worse  for 
that ;  certainly  not  the  less  potential.  But  Luther 
had  a  rich  fund  of  poetry  in  his  nature.  The  vague 
distances  in  which  the  origin  of  the  Papal  polity  lost 
itself,  had,  for  his  thoughts,  a  charm  like  the  hazy 


334  LIFE  OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

depths  of  a  landscape,  and  one  which  it  was  no  easy 
matter  to  shake  off.  Add  to  this,  that  the  Roman 
Church  lavished  upon  her  ceremonies  all  the  exquisite 
appliances  of  art,  and  wound  around  them  those  seduc- 
tive appeals  to  the  ideal  faculty,  through  the  medium 
of  the  senses,  which  seem  to  lift  the  soul  into  oblivion 
of  the  clay  ;  that  sculpture  gave  its  forms,  animate  with 
the  mute  passion  of  a  moment,  seized  and  set  fast,  as 
in  a  purer  incarnation  ;  that  the  mirrored  life  of  paint- 
ing looked  down  from  altars  reeking  with  sweet  per- 
fumes, and  radiant  faces  shone  from  the  pictured  can- 
vass with  a  benignant  holiness  upon  the  worshipper ; 
while  music  revelled  in  luxurious  flexions  along  aisles 
vocal  with  litanies  of  penitence,  that,  mixing  with  the 
tide  of  "  numerous  sound,"  were  borne  aloft,  as  if  car- 
ried by  it  from  *the  earth.  Ponder  then  the  natural 
effect  of  these  combined  influences  on  a  spirit  keenly 
alive  to  their  impressions  ;  think  how  easily  the  rapt 
elevation  they  induce  might  have  been  allowed  to  throw 
a  redeeming  beauty  around  the  offices  of  that  church 
in  whose  communion  he  was  born,  and  to  interpose  a 
dazzling  veil  between  the  reformer  and  the  abuses 
which  he  stood  forth  to  combat ;  and  then  we  come  to 
know  something  of  the  might  and  magnitude  of  the 
moral  reason  of  Luther,  which  could  fling  aside  blan- 
dishments so  congenial  to  the  passionate  sentiment  of 
a  German,  with  a  poet's  heart,  and  nobly  guide  him- 
self by  his  sole  conviction  of  the  right,  and  the  immu- 
table behest  of  the  Most  High. 

And  here  we  are  brought  back  to  the  predominant 
quality  of  the  reformer's  state  of  intellect,  and  the  key 
to  all  his  greatness.  It  was  that  settled  and  well-poised 
supremacy  of  the  logical  understanding  which  kept 


LIFE    OF   MARTIN   LUTHER.  335 

sway  over  a  mind  fall  of  many  and  bright  powers. 
Away  from  all  moral  impulses,  this  just  order  of  the 
thinking  man  imparted  to  his  acts  a  steadiness  and  an 
onward  energy  which  were  the  image  and  reflection 
of  the  compact  strength  within.  Other  minds,  with 
as  much  native  vigour,  and  more  brilliancy,  there  have 
been,  whose  faculties,  wanting  this  cohesion,  consis- 
tence, and  consolidated  unity,  were  dissipated,  and 
grew  unproductive.  • 

But  when  the  Bible  unrolled  its  hallowed  pages  to 
the  eyes  of  Luther,  and  conscience  purged  by  divine 
illumination  and  instruction  waxed  clear  and  peremp- 
tory in  its  biddings,  the  mission  came  to  him  as  to  a 
giant  already  armed  for  the  fight  that  lay  before  him. 
It  is  not  easy  to  imagine  a  more  affecting  demonstra- 
tion of  the  far-prescient  benevolence  and  overswaying 
operation  of  the  divine  will,  than  appears  in  this  pre- 
construction  of  an  organ  so  singularly  fitted  as  was  the 
vigorous  humanity  of  Luther  to  work  out  the  instru- 
mental regeneration  of  a  people  perishing  in  the  dark- 
ness of  an  aged  and  ghostly  bondage.  Of  the  struggle 
that  ensued,  of  Luther's  persevering  fidelity  in  the 
discharge  of  his  sacred  trust,  of  his  holy  bravery  in  the 
hour  of  uttermost  peril,  and  the  vigilant  care  of  Provi- 
dence, which,  ever  holding  him  in  charge,  supported, 
led,  and  shielded  him  to  the  end,  we  have  drawn  a 
rapid  and  imperfect  sketch.  Of  many  of  those  bene- 
fits which,  under  God's  blessing,  have  flowed  from  his 
exertions,  including  that  practical  recognition  of  the 
Christian  morality  which  is  the  spring  and  bond  of 
social  freedom,  we  live  in  an  enjoyment  so  continuous 
and  familiar,  as  to  be  sometimes  in  danger  of  growing 
thankless  and  forgetful      But  the  final  and  completed 


336  LIFE   OF   MARTIN   LUTHER. 

results  of  the  conquest  which  dawned  upon  him  in  this 
world,  and  of  which  the  young  morning  is  with  us,  will 
be  revealed  only  in  the  broad  daylight  of  eternity. 

Of  Luther,  on  the  whole,  it  may  be  said,  that  a 
firmer  spirit,  a  mind  more  resolutely  honest,  self-obli- 
vious, and  unswerving,  has  never — except  in  the  case 
of  Him  who  wrapped  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  in 
human  flesh — been  permitted  to  shed  dignity  upon  our 
fallen  nature.  Other  men  have  pulled  down  tyrants 
and  stirred  empires  to  revolt  against  oppression.  In 
some  rare  instances,  neither  avarice  nor  ambition  has 
fixed  a  stain  upon  their  fame.  But  where  in  all  his- 
tory is  the  individual  who,  raised  from  lowest  poverty 
and  personal  insignificance  to  be  the  counsellor  of 
princes  and  the  teacher  of  mankind,  was,  equally  with 
Luther,  proof  against  all  temptations  to  turn  aside  from 
the  even  walk  of  probity  and  severe  disinterestedness  ? 
Mere  affluence,  indeed,  he  might  not  have  coveted. 
Unused  to  the  voluptuous  appendages  of  wealth,  and 
careless  of  external  decoration,  they  might  have  had 
but  few  or  no  attractions  for  him.  But  when  it  is  re- 
flected, that  at  one  period  the  Protestant  churches  of 
all  Germany  lay  at  his  feet,  supplicating  him  to  reor- 
ganize their  system  and  government,  the  bright  integ- 
rity of  his  soul  shines  out  conspicuous  and  sublimely. 
To  have  grasped  at  power,  when  it  was  thus  delivered 
up  into  his  hands,  would  have  been  yielding  only  to  a 
natural  and  proud  infirmity.  Had  he  built  up  a  hierar- 
chy, in  which  some  station  of  pre-eminent  control 
should  have  been  reserved  for  his  own  occupancy,  who 
could  have  reasonably  withstood,  or  even,  with  osten- 
sible justice,  have  reproached  him  ?  But  his  ambition 
was  of  a  diviner  stamp.     It  pointed  not  to  the  glittering 


LIFE   OF   MARTIN  LUTHER.  337 

furniture  of  earthly  state,  or  the  gathering  of  subject 
crowds  around  his  seat;  but  to  that  assured  reward 
of  the  righteous  which,  commencing  in  the  triumph  of 
the  truths  they  speak  on  earth,  is  consummated  in  a 
happier  region,  by  the  gift  of  a  crown  that  fadeth  not 
away.  Are  we  asked  for  the  memorials  of  Luther's 
virtue,  and  the  proof  that  his  designation  was  of  God  ? 
Look  forth  upon  the  world,  now  rising  in  the  freshness 
and  moral  beauty  of  an  awakened  Christianity ;  let  the 
eye  rest  on  England,  with  its  myriad  temples,  and  the 
ear  be  gladdened  with  its  sabbath  bells ;  count  the 
houses  of  prayer  which  have  sprung  up  amidst  the 
forest  wildernesses  of  America  ;  think  of  Ethiopia 
stretching  out  her  hands  to  her  Redeemer,  and  the  arid 
boundlessness  of  African  deserts  grown  vocal  with  his 
praise  ;  of  the  Indian  widow  snatched  from  the  flame, 
and  the  babe  rescued  from  the  flood ;  remember  the 
tottering  throne  of  the  prophet,  and  the  prostration  of 
the  Roman  antichrist ;  and  see  in  these  the  tokens  and 
the  seal  of  Luther's  commission  from  heaven,  and  the 
wide  consequences  of  the  Reformation.  In  a  sense 
fully  as  much  nobler  as  it  is  more  extensive  than  their 
original  purport,  we  may  apply  to  the  reformer  the 
words  of  that  fine  inscription  in  our  own  metropolitan 
cathedral,  commemorative  of  its  builder : — 

"Lector,  si  monumentum  requiris,  circumspice." 
15 


APPENDIX. 


The  following  table  of  occurrences,  comprised  in  the  period  in- 
tervening  between  the  birth  and  death  of  Luther,  will  not  only- 
aid  the  reader  in  the  orderly  recollection  of  the  leading  facts  of 
the  reformer's  own  history,  but  will  present  him  with  a  view  of 
the  general  character  and  progress  of  events  ;  and  thus  suggest 
useful  considerations  as  to  the  state  of  society,  both  civil  and 
ecclesiastical.  A  single  glance  will  show  that  the  Wittenberg 
professor  lived  in  stirring  times.  The  winter  had  passed  away, 
and  everywhere  might  be  seen  the  evidences  of  active  vegeta- 
tion, though  few  could  even  conjecture  what  fruits  the  harvest 
would  supply.  Of  one  kind  of  seed  alone  can  the  results  be 
certainly  predicted.  "  All  flesh  is  as  grass,  and  all  the  glory  of 
man  as  the  flower  of  grass ;  the  grass  withereth,  and  the  flower 
thereof  falleth  away,  but  the  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for 
ever.  And  this  is  the  word,  which  by  the  gospel  is  preached 
unto  you." 


A.  D. 

1483.  (Nov.  10.)  Martin  Luther  born,  at  Eisleben,  in  Saxony. 

1484.  Ulrich  Zuingle  born,  in  Switzerland. 

1485.  Accession  of  Henry  VII.  to  the  throne  of  England. 

1486.  The  Portuguese  sail  as  far  as  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

1487.  A  crusade  againt  the  Waldenses ;  the  pope  encouraging 

it  by  the  promise  of  a  plenary  indulgence. 

1490.  A  German  translation  of  the  Vulgate. 

Attempt  of  Pope  Innocent  VIII.  to  impose  the  tenth  penny 
upon  the  French  clergy ;  but  opposed  by  the  University 
of  Paris. 

1491.  Siege  and  capture  of  Grenada  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella; 

and  the  consequent  termination  of  the  Moorish  domi- 
nion in  Spain. 


340  APPENDIX. 

A.    D. 

1492.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  order  the  Jews  to  depart  from  their 

respective  states;  and  obtain  from  the  pope,  as  a  re. 
compense,  the  title  of  Catholic. 
Columbus  discovers  America.  (The  West  Indies.) 
The  profligate  and  abandoned  Cardinal  Borgia  made  pope. 
His  pontificate  was  signalized  by  his  vices ;  his  chief 
aim  being  to  enrich  his  children,  especially  the  notori- 
ous Cesar  Borgia,  not  less  wicked  than  his  father,  and 
more  audacious. 

1493.  Death  of  the  emperor  Frederic  III.,  and  election  of  Maxi- 

milian I. 
Alexander  VI.  publishes  a  bull,  dividing  between  Spain 
and  Portugal  the  countries  which  their  respective  navi- 
gators might  discover  in  either  hemisphere. 

1494.  First  knowledge  of  algebra  in  Europe. 

Charles  VIII.  (of  France)  invades  Naples.  Thus  began 
those  wars  on  account  of  Italy,  which  continued,  with 
few  intervals  of  peace,  till  1559 ;  and  which  had,  indi- 
rectly, a  most  important  influence  on  the  progress  of 
the  Reformation. 

1496.  The  University  of  Aberdeen  founded. 

Cabot  discovers  (for  England)  the  island  of  Newfound- 
land. 

1497.  Melancthon  born. 

Americus  Vespucius,  a  Florentine,  lands  on  the  American 

continent ;  which  afterward  is  known  by  his  name. 
The  University  of  Copenhagen  founded. 

1498.  Vasco  de  Gama  doubles  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  sails 

to  India. 
Jerome  Savonarola,  a  Dominican,  who  had  ventured  to 
speak  against  the  pope,  and  to  preach  the  necessity  of 
religious  amendments,  burnt,  for  heresy,  at  Florence. 

1499.  The  University  of  Alcala  (Complutum)  founded. 

1500.  The  Portuguese  discover  Brazil. 

,1501.  Martin  liUther  enters  the  university  at  Erfurt. 

1502.  University  of  Wittenberg  founded. 

1503.  The  pope  (Alexander)  killed  accidentally,  by  taking  the 

poison  he  had  prepared  for  one  of  his  cardinals. 


APPENDIX.  341 

A.  D. 

1504.  Complaints  against  the  grievances  of  the  court  of  Rome, 

urged  by  the  Germans  to  their  emperor. 

1505.  Luther  enters  the  Augustinian  monastery  at  Erfurt,  and 

becomes  acquainted  there  with  true  evangelical  doctrine. 

1506.  University  of  Frankfort-on-the-Oder  founded  by  Joachim, 

elector  of  Brandenburg. 
Julius  II.   lays  the  first  stone  of  St.   Peter's    at  Rome. 
(Finished  1614.) 

1508.  Luther  appointed  professor  of  philosophy  in  the  University 

of  Wittenberg. 

1509.  Accession  of  Henry  VIII.  in  England.     Wolsey  (after- 

ward  cardinal)  high  in  favour  with  him. 

1510.  Calvin  born,  in  France. 

Luther  goes  to  Rome  on  a  deputation  from  his  order. 
All  he  saw  there  revolting  to  his  feelings. 

1511.  Maximilian  and  the  king  of  France  call  for  a  general 

council. 
Goa,  in  India,   conquered  for  the  king  of  Portugal,  by 

Albuquerque. 
The  pope  convokes  the  Lateran  Council  at  Rome.    (Con- 

eluded  in  March,  1517.) 

1512.  Luther  made  doctor  in  divinity. 

1513.  John  de  Medici  elected  pope  ;  takes  the  name  of  Leo  X. 

1515.  Accession  of  Francis  I.  to  the  French  throne. 

1516.  Accession  of  Charles  V.  to  the  Spanish  throne.     Union  of 

the  Spanish  monarchy  under  him. 

1517.  The  dissolution  of  the  Lateran  Council,  having  had  twelve 

sessions.     It  was  entirely  a  Papal  one,  and  condemned 

the  principles  established  at  the  Councils  of  Constance 

and  Basil,  relating  to  the  subordination  of  the  pope  to  a 

general   council.     The   Papal  supremacy  appeared   to 

/**      be  fully  and  finally  established. 

(         Leo  X.  publishes  his  "  indulgences."     Tetzel  their  sales- 

V  man  in  Germany. 

\     (Oct.  31.)  Luther  publishes  his  theses  against  these  in- 
\        ciulgences. 

1518.  AnoTEeTedTtion  of  the  Bible  in  German,  translated  from 

the  Vulgate. 


342  APPENDIX. 

A.  D. 

1518.  Melancthon,  Greek  professor  at  Wittenberg. 

7~  Luther  appears  before  Cardinal  Cajetan  at  Augsburg,  and 

appeals  to  the"bnpy  "belter Informed."-*-*. rr 

Leonardo  de  Vinci,  painter,  Florentine  school. 
(Nov.  9.)  Leo  publishes  a  bull  confirming  the  doctrine  of 
indulgences. 

1519.  Death  of  Maximilian,  and  election  of  Charles  V.,  in  pre- 

ference  to  his  competitor,  Francis  I.  of  France. 
(Jan.)  Conference  of  Luther  with  Miltitz. 
Discovery  of  Mexico,  by  the  Spaniards. 
Magellan,    the    Portuguese,    first    circumnavigates    the 

globe. 
(June.)  Disputation,  at  Leipsic,  between  Luther  and  Eccius. 
Zuingle  preaching  at  Zurich  against  the  corruptions  of  the 

Papacy. 
V      Luther  publishes  his  first  commentary  on  the  Galatians. 

1520.  Various  publications  by  Luther.     In  August  he  begins  to 

attack  the  Papal  system :  before,  he  had  only  attacked 
certain  erroneous  doctrines,  which  he  did  not  consider 
as  belonging  to  the  Roman  Church. 

The  interview,  on  "  The  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold,"  be- 
tween Henry  VIII.  and  Francis  jL 

The  Complutensian  edition  of  the  Bible  published,  under 
the  auspices  of  Cardinal  Ximenes. 

Raphael  d'Urbino,  painter,  Roman  school. 

1521.  Solyman  II.  takes  Belgrade. 

First  war  between  Charles  V.  and  Francis  I. 
i     (April.)  Luther  before  the  Diet  of  Worms.  I 

Luther  conveyed  to  the  castle  of  Wartburg,  where  he  be- 

gins  his  translation  of  the  Bible  into  -German. 
Melancthon  first  publishes  his  Loci  Communes. 
Gustavus  Vasa,  in  Sweden. 
,  Henry  VIII.  of  England  writes  against  Luther,  and  is  de- 
clared  bv  Leo,  "defender  of  the  faith." 
Erasmus  endeavours  to  pursue  a  middle  course-;  pleases 
.   neither  Leo  nor  Luther. 
.     Principles  of  Reformation  in  France,  but  condemned  by 
the  Sorbonne ;  extend  to  Denmark  and  Transylvania. 


APPENDIX.  343 

A.  D. 

1521.  Ignatius  Loyola  receives  the  wound  in  battle,  during  the 

cure  of  which  he  embraces  the  notions  for  which  he 
afterward  became  so  famous. 
Erasmus   settles   at  Basle.     The  University  of  Geneva 
founded. 

1522.  (March.)  Adrian,  the  Fleming,  preceptor  to  Charles  V., 

elected  pope  on  the  death  of  Leo  X. 
Rhodes  conquered  by  the  Turks,  under  Solyman. 
Diet  at   Nuremberg.     Calls  for  a  general  council ;  and 

transmits  a  list  of  grievances  to  Rome. 
(Sept.)  Luther's  New  Testament  published  at  Wittenberg. 
The  Portuguese  establish  a  settlement  at  Macao. 
Revolt  of  Bourbon  against  Francis. 

1523.  Reformation  introduced  into  Sweden. 

The  insurrection  of  the  peasants  in  Germany  begins. 
Headed,  after  a  time,  by  Thomas  Munzer,  a  fanatic. 

Public  disputation  at  Zurich  between  Zuingle  and  the 
Romanists.  Zuingle's  "  Short  and  simple  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Doctrine  of  the  Gospel"  published. 

Reformation  had  made  some  progress  in  the  Netherlands. 
A  Dutch  translation  of  the  Bible  published.  Eras- 
mus completes  his  Paraphrase  of  the  New  Testament. 

(Nov.)  Death  of  Pope  Adrian.  Succeeded  by  Clement 
VII. 

1524.  The  doctrines  of  Luther  gain  ground  in  Prussia.     Are  in. 
r~~ tfoduceoTiiTRS  Scotland . 

Diet  of  Nuremberg.  After  it,  at  Ratisbon,  Cardinal  Cam- 
peggio  endeavours  to  establish  a  league  between  seve- 
ral princes  and  bishops  to  uphold  the  Church  of  Rome. 
This  the  first  league  of  the  German  princes. 

Beginning  of  the  sacramental  controversy  :  Luther  main- 
taining consubstantiation  ;  Carlostadt  denying  it.  John 
Staupitz.  Melancthon,  professor  of  divinity  at  Wit- 
tenberg. Loyola  studying  at  Barcelona  :  reading  Kem- 
pis  very  attentively.  First  Danish  translation  of  the 
New  Testament. 

Invasion  of  France  by  the  Imperialists,  under  the  revolted 
Bourbon. 


344  APPENDIX. 

A.   D 

1525.  Battle   of  Pavia.     Francis   taken   prisoner.      Carried   to 

Madrid. 

Death  of  Frederic  the  Wise,  elector  of  Saxony,  Luther's 
first  protector. 

Albert  of  Brandenburg  embraces  Lutheranism ;  is  ac- 
knowledged by  Poland  hereditary  duke  of  Teutonic 
Prussia. 

The  peasant  insurgents  put  down.  Munzer  taken  and 
beheaded. 

Zuingle  engages  in  the  sacramental  controversy,  teach- 
ing similarly  to  Carlostadt. 

Marriage  of  Luther  with  Catherine  de  Bora. 

"Solyman  spreading  his  victorious  armies  over  Western 
Asia.     He  besieges  and  takes  Bagdad  from  the  Persians. 

Lutherans  persecuted,  and,  in  some  places,  burnt. 

1526.  Treaty  between  Charles  and  Francis. 

The  elector  of  Saxony  and  landgrave  of  Hesse  enter  into 

an  engagement  (at  Torgau)  for  mutual  support. 
The  pope  enters  into  an  alliance  (the  Holy  League)  with 

France,  Venice,  and  Milan,  against  Charles. 
Reformation   established    in   Prussia.     Tyndal's   English 

translation  of  the  New  Testament.     Luther's  German 

Liturgy,  and  order  of  public  worship. 

1527.  War   between  Francis  and  Charles.     The   Imperialists, 

under  Bourbon,  (who  is  slain,)  take  and  sack  Rome. 
The  pope  taken  prisoner. 

Many  of  the  writings  of  the  reformers  circulated  in  Italy, 
and  meet  with  much  acceptance.  University  of  Mar- 
purg  founded.  • 

Henry  VIII.  begins  to  express  his  doubts  of  the  lawful- 
ness of  the  marriage  between  himself  and  his  brother's 
widow. 

Solyman  invades  Hungary. 

1528.  Visitation  of  the  churches  in  Saxony.     Melancthon  fur- 

nishing the  visitation  articles. 
Patrick  Hamilton  burnt  at  St.  Andrew's,  for  heresy.     Re- 
formation widely  extended  in  Germany  and  Switzer- 
land. 


APPENDIX.  345 

A.  D. 

1529.  Solyman  invades  Hungary,  and  advances  to  Vienna,  which 

he  besieges.  Had  to  raise  the  siege ;  but  acquired 
permanent  possession  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia. 

DJet  of  Spires ;  passes  a  decree  unfavourable  to  the  Re- 
formation. The  reforming  princes  protest  :  hence  the 
name  of  Protestants. 

Treaty  between  Charles  and  the  pope  ;  the  emperor  agree- 
ing to  bring  the  German  heretics  to  obedience  to  the 
Roman  see. 

(Oct.)  Conferences  at  Marpurg  between  Saxon  and  Swiss 
divines. 

Divorce  cause  of  Henry  VIII.  transferred  to  Rome.  Dis- 
grace of  Cardinal  Wolsey. 

Violent  persecutions  in  the  Netherlands  and  France. 

1530.  Knights  of  St.  John  receive  a  grant  of  Malta  from  the 

emperor. 

The  Lutheran  princes  form  the  Smalcaldic  League.  Diet 
of  Augsburg.  Articles  of  religion  ("  Articles  of  Tor- 
gau")  drawn  up  previously  by  the  Lutherans.  At  the 
diet,  other  articles,  drawn  up  by  Melancthon,  with  these 
as  their  basis,  presented  ;  constituting  "  The  Augsburg 
Confession."  The  final  decree  of  the  diet  is  against 
the  reformers. 

Various  universities  declare  Henry's  marriage  unlawful. 
The  clergy  in  convocation  acknowledge  Henry  supreme 
head  of  the  church. 

1531.  Religious  war  in  Switzerland.     Zuingle  slain.     Bullinger, 

his  successor,  completes  the  establishment  of  a  reformed 
discipline  and  worship  in  Zurich.  Michael  Servetus 
publishes  his  treatise,  "  De  Trinitatis  Erroribus." 

1532.  Pacification  of  Nuremberg,  between  the  emperor  and  Pro- 

testants. Sale  of  indulgences  at  Geneva.  Farel  banish- 
ed the  city  for  preaching  evangelical  doctrines.  Calvin, 
beginning  to  make  himself  known  in  Paris  by  his  reli- 
gious opinions,  is  obliged  to  flee. 

1533.  Cranmer  made  archbishop  of  Canterbury.      The  king's 

divorce  publicly  declared.  In  Scotland,  the  reformers 
violently  persecuted. 

15» 


346  APPENDIX. 

A.   D. 

1533.  Conquest  of  Peru,  for  the  Spaniards,  by  Pizarro. 

1534.  Abolition  of  Papal  supremacy  in  England  by  the  parlia- 

ment. 
Luther's  translation   of  the  Bible,  three  volumes  folio, 

published. 
Ignatius  Loyola  forms  a  religious  society,  in  Paris,  for  the 

defence  of  Catholicism. 
Fanatical  Anabaptists  take  possession  of  Munster.    Death 

of  Clement.     Paul  III.  elected  pope. 
Several  Protestants  burnt  at  Paris. 

1535.  Francis  negotiating  with  the  Smalcaldic  League. 
Charles  V.  goes  into  Northern  Africa ;  is  victorious  there. 
Mines  of  Potosi  discovered  by  the  Spaniards. 
Reformation  at  Geneva.     Calvinism,  and  a  democratic 

form  of  government,  established  there. 

Lutheranism  definitely  established  in  Denmark. 

Cromwell,  vicegerent  in  England. 

Melancthon  publishes  a  new  edition  of  his  Loci  Com- 
munes; far  less  Augustinian  (or  Calvinistic)  than  be- 
fore. Calvin's  "Institutes"  published.  Luther's  second 
commentary  on  the  Galatians. 

Olivetan  translates  the  Bible  into  French,  for  the  French 
Protestants.     Coverdale's  English  Bible. 

1536.  War  between  Charles  and  Francis  again.     The  Imperial- 

ists invade  France,  unsuccessfully. 

First  Helvetic  Confession  published.  Calvin  settles  at 
Geneva.  Reformation  advancing  in  England.  A  Bible 
ordered  to  be  set  up  in  churches  to  be  read  by  the  peo- 
ple.    Dissolution  of  monasteries  in  England. 

Death  of  Erasmus.  Imperialists  defeated  by  the  Turks  in 
Hungary. 

1537.  Religious  agitations   in  England.     The  "  Institution  of  a 

Christian  Man"  published;  and  "Matthew's"  English 
Bible. 

1538.  Charles  and  Francis  conclude  a  truce  for  ten  years.   Chris- 

tian III.,  of  Denmark,  and  other  princes,  join  the  Smal- 
caldic League. 


APPENDIX.  347 

A.   D. 

1539.  An  insurrection  at  Ghent,  on  account  of  a  supposed  inva- 

sion of  their  privileges  by  Charles.  In  England,  the 
Act  of  the  "  Six  Articles  "  passed.  Cranmer  complies  ; 
but  Latimer  and  Shaxton  resign  their  bishoprics.-  Final 
suppression  of  the  English  monasteries. 

1540.  Francis  negotiating  with  the  Protestant  princes.     Crom- 

well disgraced,  &c,  in  England,  and  the  Papal  cause 
seems  reviving.  Some  burnt  for  opposing  Popery; 
others,  for  denying  the  king's  supremacy. 

The  "  Society  of  Jesus  "  (that  is,  the  Jesuits)  formally  esta- 
blished by  Paul  III. 

University  of  Lausanne  founded. 

Francis  Guicciardini,  the  historian,  died. 

1541.  Francis  Xavier,  and  other  Jesuits,  go  from  Portugal  to  the 

East  Indies  as  missionaries. 
Solyman  invades  Hungary ;  Charles  engages  in  a  counter 

invasion  of  Algiers ;  but  his  fleet  is  dispersed  by  storms, 

and  the  whole  expedition  fails. 
Death  of  Ludovicus  Vives,  (commentator  on  Augustine,) 

of  Pagninus,  (Hebrew  scholar,)  and  of  Carlostadt. 

1542.  Another  war  between  Francis  and  Charles. 

Paul  III.  convokes  a  council  at  Trent ;  but  is  opposed  by 
Charles,  who  publishes  a  manifesto  against  it. 

1543.  The  Spaniards  take  possession  of  the  Isles  of  St.  Lazarus, 

discovered  by  Magellan,  and  call  them  the  Philip- 
pines. 

Turks  powerful  and  successful  in  Hungary.  Reformation 
established  in  Brunswick  Wolfenbuttel ;  and  suppressed 
by  persecution  at  Metz. 

Death  of  Eccius. 

"Necessary  Doctrine  and  Erudition  of  a  Christian  Man" 
published  in  England.  Henry  VIII.  takes  the  title  of 
king  of  Ireland. 

1544.  Peace  between  Francis  and  Charles.     They  agree  to  join 

their  influence  with  the  pope  for  a  general  council. 
The  Reformation  completed  in  Sweden.     It  continues  to 
spread  in  Germany. 


348  APPENDIX. 

A.  D. 

1545.  The  Council  of  Trent  formally  opened  ;  though  no  busi- 

ness transacted. 
In  France,  at  Cabrieres  and  Merindol,  cruel  persecutions 

of  the  Waldenses,  by  order  of  Francis. 
Reformation  of  the  Lower  Palatinate. 
•Luther's  commentaries  on  Hosea,  Joel,  &c,  published. 

1546.  Struggle  in  Scotland ;  the  crown  and  clergy  against,  nobles 

and  people  for,  the  Reformation. 
(Jan.  to  March.)   Ineffectual  conferences  between  Romish 

and  Protestant  divines,  at  Ratisbon. 
(February  18th.)   Death  of  Martin  Luther. 


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